RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 


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RENAISSANT 
LATIN  AMERICA 

AN  OUTLINE  AND  INTERPRE- 
TATION OF  THE  CONGRESS  ON 
CHRISTIAN  WORK  IN  LATIN 
AMERICA,  HELD  AT  PANAMA, 
FEBRUARY  10-19,  1916 


By 
HARLAN  P.  BEACH,  D.D.,  F.R.G.S, 

Profcisor  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Missioni,  Yale  University 


NEW  YORK 

MISSIONARY  EDUCATION  MOVEMENT 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA 

1916 


Copyright,  19 1 6,  by  the 

Missionary  Education  Movement  of  thi 

United  States  and  Canada 


FOREWORD 

In  preparing  this  condensed  account  of  an  epoch- 
marking  conference,  the  author  has  been  embarrassed 
by  space  Hmitations  which  have  necessitated  the  omis- 
sion of  much  material  quite  as  important  as  some  that 
has  been  included.  His  aim  has  been  to  select  that 
which  is  most  typical  of  the  Panama  Congress  and  to 
omit  duplications,  so  far  as  the  completeness  of  separate 
chapters  would  allow.  Repetitions  still  remain  for  the 
reason  that  a  number  of  the  Commissions  needed  to 
include  material  which  had  been  used  in  a  different 
relation  in  other  reports;  and  to  omit  these  duplicated 
portions  would  mar  the  completeness  of  a  given  Com- 
mission's work. 

The  author  wishes  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that 
this  volume  has  been  written  with  a  constant  desire  to 
reproduce  truly  the  ideas  given  expression  at  the  Con- 
gress and  not  to  emphasize  his  own  judgments  on  many 
of  the  problems  discussed.  To  that  end,  and  with  the 
concurrence  of  its  editorial  committee,  he  has  used 
freely,  and  without  acknowledging  his  obligations 
formally,  the  exact  words  of  the  reports  and  of  the 
platform  addresses.  He  has  not  inserted  quotation 
marks  always  when  the  ordinary  usage  would  require 
them.  This  is  due  to  the  exigencies  of  his  desire  to 
give  the  precise  thought  of  a  writer  or  speaker,  and 


iv  FOREWORD 

at  the  same  time  to  economize  space ;  so  that  quotation, 
paraphrase  and  condensation  may  occur  in  a  single  sen- 
tence, making  the  marks  of  quotation,  if  used,  an 
enigma  and  a  blemish.  This  editorial  license  will  be 
criticised  most  by  those  speakers  whose  more  formal 
addresses  are  summarized  and  extracted  from  in  Chap- 
ter X.  The  author  hopes  that  he  has  not  sinned  in  the 
manner  described  by  Dr.  McCosh  in  his  "Divine 
Government,"  where  he  remarks,  "A  garbled  quota- 
tion may  be  the  most  effective  perversion  of  an 
author's  meaning."  If  he  has  transgressed  seriously 
in  this  matter,  forgiveness  is  asked  publicly  for  scores 
of  offenses  that  may  be  noted  not  only  in  that  chap- 
ter, but  more  especially  in  the  extremely  concise  re- 
productions of  ideas  expressed  in  platform  discus- 
sions. 

Despite  the  brevity  and  omissions  of  this  volume, 
it  will  have  failed  utterly  of  its  purpose,  if  it  has  not 
brought  to  the  reader  some  impression  of  the  profound 
importance  of  a  congress  which  should  mean  more 
for  the  higher  life  of  Latin  America  and  for  the 
awakening  of  Christian  responsibility  for  aiding  its 
leaders  in  national  uplift  than  any  other  single  factor 
in  its  social,  mental  and  spiritual  regeneration.  Hap- 
pily, the  full  significance  of  the  Congress  may  be  more 
fully  appreciated  from  the  three-volume  report,  con- 
taining the  investigations  of  its  eight  Commissions, 
as  well  as  a  careful  report  of  its  platform  discussions 
and  addresses. 

July  15,  1916.  H.  P.  B. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Foreword iii 

I  The  Story  of  the  Congress i 

II  Rediscovering  Latin  America 25 

III  Interpretation,  Message,  Method 55 

IV  Latin  Americans  and  Education 81 

V  Leaves  for  the  Healing  of  Nations 109 

VI  The  Upbuilding  of  Womanhood 123 

VII  The  Latin  Evangelical  Churches 139 

VIII  The  Home  Fulcrum 165 

IX  Unity's  Fraternal  Program 187 

X  Congressional  Addresses 207 

XI  Aftermath  and  Estimates 229 

Index 251 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The  Panama  Congress  in  Session Frontispiece 

The  Business  Committee 26 

Delegates  at  Pedro  Miguel  Locks 26 

Street  Preaching 58 

Industrial  Mission  58 

Woman  Colporteur,  Chile 90 

Yucatan-Indian  Evangelist,  Mexico 90 

Sunday  School,  Brazil 122 

Children  Who  Need  a  Sunday  School,  Mexico 122 

Continuation  Committee    154 

Sea  Wall  Church,  Panama 154 

Some  Latin-American  Delegates  at  Panama 186 

Girls'  Dormitory,  Christo  School,  Cuba 218 

Arrival  of  the  Physician  at  the  Dispensary,  Porto  Rico 218 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS 

In  the  oldest  city  founded  upon  the  American  main- 
land by  Europeans,  at  the  southern  terminus  of  the 
Panama  Canal,  was  held  from  February  tenth  to  the 
nineteenth,  191 6,  a  congress  unparalleled  in  the  New 
World's  history  of  missions.  Some  of  the  reasons  mak- 
ing it  so  noteworthy  were  mentioned  in  Dr.  Mott's 
response  to  the  address  of  welcome  extended  to  the 
Congress  by  Senor  E.  Lefevre,  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  of  the  Republic  of  Panama.  "We  have  dele- 
gates," said  he,  *'from  virtually  every  one  of  the  re- 
publics of  North  and  South  America.  We  likewise 
have  representatives  from  Europe  and  the  distant 
parts  of  the  world.  I  fancy  that  not  in  the  history  of 
the  Western  Hemisphere  has  there  been  assembled  a 
gathering  so  representative  of  the  leaders  and  the  forces 
of  righteousness  of  this  great  sphere  of  the  world's 
activity.  There  have  been  notable  gatherings  rep- 
resenting the  political  ideals  and  ambitions  and  hopes 
of  the  Western  Hemisphere.  There  have  been  most 
successful  gatherings  to  promote  commercial  relations 
between  these  nations.  There  have  been  scientific  con- 
gresses— notably  the  one  recently  held  in  Washington 
— that  have  done  much  to  cement  the  bonds  between 


2  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

these  peoples  and  to  prepare  for  a  better  day.  But 
not  before  this  time  have  we  had  such  a  representative 
company  of  Christian  workers,  men  and  women  of  wide 
vision,  who  have  met  together  for  this  altruistic  pur- 
pose in  the  realization  of  great  hopes."  '"'  Dr.  Mott 
might  have  added  that  it  was  to  Panama,  also,  that  in 
June,  1826,  representatives  of  Colombia,  Guatemala, 
Mexico,  Peru  and  the  United  States  had  been  invited 
''to  consult  together  and,  if  deemed  practicable,  to 
form  a  league  to  resist  Spain,  or  any  other  power  that 
might  attempt  to  interfere  in  America,  and  to  consider 
the  expediency  of  freeing  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  from 
Spanish  rule.''  It  was  thus  a  city  of  early  importance 
in  the  mediating  history  of  the  New  World,  and  it  was 
now  once  more  to  become  so. 

In  deciding  upon  the  meeting  place  for  this  Con- 
gress four  possibilities  were  seriously  considered.  A 
central  city  in  the  United  States  was  ruled  out,  since 
this  was  a  gathering  for  Latin  America  and  not  for 
its  northern  neighbor,  for  missionaries  from  all  the 
sending  countries  and  not  for  those  from  the  United 
States  solely.  Rio  de  Janeiro  had  its  strong  claims, — 
the  capital  of  Latin  America's  United  States  and  allur- 
ing in  its  tropical  loveliness  as  it  skirts  an  almost  peer- 
less harbor  under  the  shadow  of  Sugar  Loaf  and  the 
Sleeping  Giant.  But  its  hot,  humid,  debilitating  cli- 
mate and  the  fact  that  Brazil  is  Portuguese  while  the 
remainder  of  Latin  America  is  Spanish  were  objec- 
tions against  that  city.  Even  more  attractive  was 
Buenos  Aires,  South  America's  metropolis,  surpassed 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS  3 

in  population  by  only  three  cities  of  the  Western 
Hemisphere,  the  Greater  New  York,  Chicago  and  Phil- 
adelphia, and  vastly  more  than  "a.  plaster  imitation  of 
Paris,"  as  is  proved  by  its  substantial  public  buildings, 
great  business  houses,  spacious  docks  serving  the  ves- 
sels of  a  thousand  ports  and  a  record  for  cleanliness 
and  sanitation  making  it  one  of  the  healthiest  capitals 
in  the  world.  Yet  its  remoteness  from  the  majority  who 
would  naturally  attend  such  a  gathering  was  sufficient 
to  disqualify  it  for  a  Christian  Congress. 

Panama  remained  and  was  finally  chosen  as  the 
meeting  place  of  the  first  important  evangelical  con- 
ference to  be  held  in  Latin  America.  And  it  was  highly 
appropriate  that  it  should  be  thus  honored.  As  the 
Panama  News  Letter  reminded  the  delegates,  one  can- 
not forget  that  the  records  and  ruins  of  old  Panama 
show  that  it  was  the  seat  of  a  Roman  Catholic  arch- 
bishop before  St.  Augustine — the  oldest  permanent 
town  in  the  United  States — was  founded ;  and  that  it 
w^as  here  that  money  was  raised  to  equip  the  expedi- 
tion which  first  carried  the  cross  of  Christ  to  South 
America  and  brought  back  for  wondering  Europe  the 
news  of  the  great  Inca  Empire  and  its  unique  people. 
Its  famous  Gold  Road  over  which  slaves  and  mules 
carried  the  treasure  of  the  Incas  was  the  precursor  of 
other  trails  and  of  the  railway  of  Forty-Niner  fame. 
But  the  crowaiing  sanitary  and  civil  engineering 
achievement  of  the  world,  the  Panama  Canal  and  its 
sheltering  healthful  Zone,  were  both  an  attraction  and 
a  strong  argument.    That  silver  band  of  w^ater  uniting 


4  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

two  great  oceans,  fed  by  never  failing  streams  and 
flushed  by  tropical  rains,  receives  into  its  hospitable 
embrace  the  merchantmen  and  navies  of  the  world. 
Just  as  the  Canal  binds  together  and  enriches  the 
nations,  so  this  Congress  had  in  it  the  possibilities  of 
uniting  and  blessing  the  Latin-American  republics. 
Meeting  near  its  waters  was  to  take  courage  and  to 
plan  seemingly  impossible  things,  to  shrink  from  no 
expenditure  of  money  and  life  and  to  make  use  of  the 
wisdom  and  inexhaustible  resources  of  the  Heavenly 
Kingdom. 

It  was  above  the  city,  on  the  slopes  of  beautiful 
Ancon,  that  the  Congress  convened.  The  government's 
Hotel  Tivoli  was  the  trysting  place  where  lovers  of 
God  and  of  men  daily  and  nightly  met  and  lived  to- 
gether. A  majority  of  the  leaders  were  lodged  at  the 
hotel;  so  that  some  of  the  finest  fruits  of  this  Latin- 
American  paradise  were  the  firm  friendships  and  com- 
mon points  of  sympathy  and  view  resulting  from  such 
close  intimacy.  Tennis  before  breakfast,  when  the 
dewdrops  sparkled  on  every  blade  of  grass  and  on  each 
glossy  banana  frond  and  when  the  sun  was  rising  out 
of  the  Pacific  to  rule  the  tropical  day,  or  early  tramps 
to  the  dense  jungle,  impenetrable  by  anything  larger 
than  a  rat  except  an  elephant,  and  again  the  walks  to- 
gether just  before  dinner,  were  restful  preparatives 
and  interludes  in  a  never-to-be-forgotten  experience. 
Nor  was  there  anything  insular  or  exclusive  about 
these  intimacies.  Bishops  from  North  America  locked 
arms  with  Latin  laymen,  as  they  strolled  about  or  sat 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS  S 

together  in  the  breeze-swept  ballroom,  where  the  ses- 
sions of  the  Congress  were  held.  While  it' was  only 
the  more  demonstrative  Latins  who  embraced  each 
other,  they  and  the  staid,  cold  New  Englanders  were 
as  one  in  their  familiar  intercourse  between  sessions. 
In  other  words,  had  there  never  been  anything  more 
than  these  ten  days  of  Christian  fellowship,  with  no 
suggestion  of  formal  conference,  the  gathering  would 
have  justified  fully  its  assembling.  Dubious  or  ag- 
gressive Romanist  onlookers  must  have  felt  inwardly 
impelled  to  testify  of  this  group  of  leaders,  "Behold 
how  they  love  one  another!"  And  so  said  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  Panamanians. 

As  the  place  chosen  for  the  Congress  was  strategic, 
so  there  w^as  a  providential  timeliness  in  its  convening 
just  at  this  juncture  in  history.  As  was  show^n  so 
effectively  by  Dr.  Mott,  the  completion  of  the  Canal 
has  turned  the  thought  of  serious  people  to  the 
changed  relationships  involved.  It  has  created  a  new 
water  map  of  the  world,  with  the  Canal  Zone  as 
its  center,  whence  radiate  new  ocean  routes  with  their 
necessitated  racial  adjustments,  due  to  international 
rivalries.  It  has  compelled  the  United  States  in  par- 
ticular to  review  its  Monroe  Doctrine,  both  in  its  polit- 
ical and  in  its  religious  aspects  and  obligations.  The 
long  drawn  out  political  disturbances  in  Mexico  have 
linked  the  Northern  Republic  by  close  ties  with  the 
"A.  B.  C.  countries"  of  South  America,  as  they  strive 
together  to  bring  to  Mexicans  the  elements  of  a  stable 
peace.    Those  present  at  a  special  session  of  members 


6  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AINIERICA 

of  the  Christian  Congress  called  to  consider  mission- 
ary problems  arising  from  the  revolution  in  that  re- 
public could  hardly  fail  to  note  the  parallel  between 
the  political  helpfulness  of  "A.  B.  C."  diplomacy  as  re- 
lated to  Mexico  and  the  hoped-for  religious  advance- 
ment arising  from  that  evening  spent  in  common  in- 
terdenominational planning  for  a  more  brotherly  and 
cooperative  program  for  that  perturbed  and  divided 
country.  Such  a  deputation  as  was  sent  to  Latin 
America  in  19 14  by  the  Carnegie  Endowment  for  In- 
ternational Peace,  resulting  in  the  discovery  of  strong 
feelings  of  friendship  and  of  w^ays  in  which  the  north- 
ern and  southern  continents  could  be  helpful,  both  in- 
tellectually and  culturally,  to  each  other,  suggests  the 
opportuneness  of  a  similar  religious  rapprochement 
through  this  conference.  The  Pan  American  Scien- 
tific Congress,  held  only  a  few  weeks  before,  was 
another  suggestion  of  the  immediate  desirability 
of  bringing  the  Christian  forces  together  for 
a  scientific  discussion  of  missionary  efificiency  and 
dynamics.  It  was  also  deemed  to  be  the  psychological 
moment  in  which  to  bring  to  bear  upon  the  Latin- 
American  missionary  propaganda  certain  results,  in- 
digenous and  imported,  arising  from  such  movements 
and  object-lessons  as  the  educational  work  of  the 
Piedras  Negras  Institute,  the  broad  social  and  re- 
ligious program  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation and  the  remarkable  achievements  of  Senor 
Alvaro  Reis'  self-supporting  church  in  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
perhaps  the  strongest  evangelical  congregation  in  Latin 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS  7 

America.  Indeed,  the  Congress  was  permeated  with 
the  Zeitgeist  and  tingled  with  the  Geistesdrang  of  this 
epochal  period  in  the  evolution  of  the  missionary 
enterprise;  it  was  the  rich  heir  of  recent  advances  in 
the  science  of  missions  and  burned  with  the  ardor 
which  the  impelling  spirit  of  unity  and  cooperation 
is  imparting  in  these  latter  days.  And  finally  the 
shadow  and  the  reality  of  the  awful  European  war 
entered  as  a  factor  into  this  timeliness.  Thus  a  series 
of  important  conferences  in  the  Levant,  to  be  held 
under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  John  R.  Mott,  representing 
the  Edinburgh  Conference  Continuation  Committee, 
had  to  be  given  up,  making  it  possible  at  this  critical 
period  to  render  the  Panama  Congress  more  effective 
than  it  otherwise  might  have  been.  Post-bellum  op- 
portunities will  doubtless  be  unique,  and  now  is  the 
time  in  which  the  Church  and  individual  Christians 
should  consider  and  prepare  for  them.  If  Europe's 
burdens,  because  of  the  costly  and  exhausting  warfare, 
will  then  be  too  heavy  to  admit  of  aiding  Latin  Amer- 
ica, Latins  and  North  Americans  should  unite  their 
forces  and  increase  their  efforts  to  make  good  the 
loss. 

How  did  this  Latin-American  Congress  on  Christian 
Work,  thus  strategically  convened  and  timed,  come  to 
be?  Dr.  Robert  E.  Speer,  who  later  was  made  its 
Chairman,  told  the  story  in  an  address  at  the  Foreign 
Missions  Conference  of  the  United  States  and  Canada 
at  Garden  City,  L.  L,  in  January,  19 16.  A  few  rep- 
resentatives   of    the    evangelical    Churches    of    Latin 


8  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

America  and  missionaries  from  its  republics  met  to- 
gether in  Princes  Street,  Edinburgh,  during  the  ses- 
sions of  the  World  Missionary  Conference  of  June, 
1910.  It  had  seemed  best  to  limit  the  dehberations 
and  representation  of  that  Conference  to  missions  in 
non-Christian  lands;  hence  a  depth  and  earnestness  of 
feeling  characterized  that  group  of  men,  who  felt  that 
the  service  commanding  their  supreme  allegiance  was 
in  danger  of  being  passed  by.  Four  matters  were  most 
upon  their  mind.  They  w^ere  much  concerned  over  the 
apparent  indifference  of  great  masses  of  their  fel- 
lows to  what  they  themselves  deemed  to  be  the  funda- 
mental spiritual  rights  of  the  Latin- American  nations 
and  were  anxious  that  these  claims  should  be  laid  upon 
the  hearts  of  the  home  constituency  in  a  more  effec- 
tive way.  Secondly,  they  were  deeply  impressed  with 
the  need  of  an  adequate,  popular  and  helpful  litera- 
ture for  the  Portuguese  and  Spanish  evangelical 
churches.  Again,  they  were  convinced  that  now  was 
the  time  when  those  parts  of  those  great  lands, 
sparsely  inhabited  but  some  day  to  be  densely  settled, 
now  comparatively  unoccupied  by  the  Church,  should 
be  arranged  for  by  such  distribution  of  responsibility 
among  the  Churches  as  would  ensure  adequate  provis- 
ion and  care.  And,  lastly,  they  were  convinced  that 
these  great  needs  could  be  met  only  as  some  gather- 
ing might  be  held  which  would  do  for  Latin-American 
peoples  what  the  Edinburgh  Conference  was  seeking 
to  do  for  all  the  mission  work  among  non-Christian 
nations. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS  9 

The  first  step  toward  the  realization  of  their  desires 
was  taken  in  March,  19 13,  when  a  conference  was  held 
in  New  York,  attended  by  representatives  of  mission- 
ary organizations  of  Canada  and  the  United  States 
having  work  in  Latin  America.  At  the  expiration  of 
two  days  spent  in  discussing  the  needs  of  those  fields 
with  missionaries  who  chanced  to  be  home  on  fur- 
lough, a  committee  was  appointed  to  promote  the  in- 
terests of  missions  in  Latin- American  lands.  A  year 
later  the  small  committee  of  five  called  a  meeting  at 
Garden  City,  for  additional  consultation,  especially 
with  reference  to  the  situation  in  Mexico,  due  to  the 
prolonged  insurrection  there.  The  meeting  instructed 
the  committee  to  increase  its  number  and  to  add  repre- 
sentatives of  each  agency  doing  work  in  Latin  America, 
resulting  in  a  committee  of  eighteen.  When  this  action 
became  known  in  the  Latin-American  countries,  cor- 
respondence and  personal  interviews  of  missionaries 
recalled  the  hopes  entertained  at  Edinburgh.  The  result 
was  the  initiation  of  the  plan  for  the  Panama  Congress. 
A  report  was  made  at  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference 
at  Garden  City  in  January,  191 5,  when  each  Society 
having  work  in  Latin-American  lands  was  separately 
approached.  As  these  organizations  responded  favor- 
ably and  in  different  ways  expressed  their  desire  to 
send  delegates,  the  Congress  was  definitely  decided 
upon. 

While  this  decision  was  reached  with  practical  una- 
nimity by  the  organizations  most  concerned,  different 
opinions  as  to  its  advisability  were  expressed  by  a 


10  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

few.  Opposition  arose  in  three  main  sections  of  the 
Church.  A  few  hyper-evangelicals  objected  to  the 
Congress  on  the  ground  that  it  was  a  step  toward 
compromise  with  Rome,  since  any  such  gathering 
would  probably  echo  the  prevalent  demand  for  sym- 
pathy and  possible  cooperation  with  the  Roman 
Church  in  measures  upon  which  all  could  agree,  being 
wholly  apart  from  doctrine  and  objectionable  practice. 
This,  they  feared,  would  set  in  motion  a  Rome-ward 
movement.  At  the  opposite  pole  of  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity were  a  few  advocates  of  union  among  all 
branches  of  the  Christian  Church,  who  felt  that  such 
a  gathering  would  irritate  the  Romanists  so  greatly 
that  later  union  with  them  of  any  sort  would  be  im- 
possible, or  at  least  would  be  made  more  difficult.  As 
their  sacramentarian  views  were  more  nearly  those  of 
Rome  than  of  most  Churches  having  missionaries  in 
Latin  America,  they  conscientiously  opposed  the  Con- 
gress, especially  if  held  in  the  capital  of  a  republic 
dominantly  Roman  Catholic.  Naturally  the  strongest 
opposition  came  from  the  Roman  Bishop  of  Panama, 
whose  views  were  set  forth  in  official  pronounce- 
ments to  his  constituency,  in  which  he  bade  them  be- 
ware of  false  prophets  that  were  coming  among  them 
**clad  in  sheep  furs,"  but  who  were  really  "wolves  in 
their  interior,"  and  in  which  he  prohibited  their  attend- 
ing the  meetings  under  penalty  of  mortal  sin.  While 
a  few  local  opponents  of  Protestantism  were  similarly 
stirred  and  issued  more  or  less  bitter  fulminations 
against  the  Congress,  it  was  interesting  to  see  what  local 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS  ii 

Catholic  papers  had  to  say  against  this  form  of  attack, 
And  Protestant  opposition  likewise  proved  to  be  no 
obstacle  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  Congress.  Thus 
five  bishops  of  the  Church  v^hich  had  questioned  the 
advisability  of  its  assembling  v^ere  present  and  were 
most  helpful  participants  in  its  deliberations. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Edinburgh  World  Mis- 
sionary Conference,  it  is  probable  that  no  similar 
gathering  had  been  so  laboriously  prepared  for  as  was 
the  Congress  at  Panama.  Carefully  chosen  commis- 
sions had  been  giving  months  to  the  painstaking  in- 
vestigation of  eight  vital  phases  of  missions  in  Latin 
America.  A  goodly  proportion  of  the  leading  men 
and  women  working  in  these  special  departments  of 
missionary  effort  freely  imparted  the  best  from  their 
experience  to  the  commissions.  Each  of  these 
separately  discussed  the  material  thus  gathered,  and 
later  the  eight  commissions  came  together  for  a  joint 
review  of  the  results  reached.  The  revised  reports 
were  then  printed  in  proof  and  sent  to  the  fields  for 
final  criticism  there.  After  they  had  been  thus  al- 
tered, each  commission  prepared  for  the  private  use  of 
delegates  to  the  Congress  its  final  report.  As  most  of 
them  were  journeying  in  groups  to  Panama,  they  met 
day  by  day  to  discuss  still  further  certain  outstanding 
issues  of  the  various  reports.  It  may  be  said  that  when 
the  commissions  reported  on  the  Congress  platform, 
the  material  presented  was  as  nearly  final  in  its  form 
as  could  be  hoped  for.  In  this  respect,  Panama  out- 
ranked Edinburgh,  and  consequently  there  was  less 


12  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

left  to  be  criticised  than  at  any  similar  gathering  in 
any  country.  The  secretary  of  the  Congress,  the  Rev. 
S.  G.  Inman,  is  well  within  the  facts  when  he  asserts 
that  these  * 'reports  constitute  probably  the  most  ex- 
haustive study  of  the  social,  educational  and  spiritual 
conditions  of  Latin  America  ever  made." 

The  personnel  of  the  Latin- American  Congress  on 
Christian  Work  was  both  notable  and  in  some  respects 
unique.  The  World  Conference  of  1910  had  attracted 
to  the  Scotch  Athens  experts  on  missions  and  mission 
W'Orkers  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  though  lands 
under  the  dominating  influence  of  forms  of  Chris- 
tianity other  than  Protestant  could  not  be  represented 
officially  from  their  missionary  ranks.  All  gradations 
of  racial  development,  all  forms  of  religious  belief, 
all  stages  of  missionary  experimentation  and  achieve- 
ment, all  varieties  of  missions  theory,  had  a  hearing 
on  the  Edinburgh  platform.  The  problems  discussed 
differed  so  greatly  in  the  environments  represented, 
that  both  in  the  printed  reports  and  on  the  plat- 
form variations  in  the  common  task  rather  than 
likenesses  were  noticeable.  Cosmopolitanism  was 
manifest  everywhere,  and  so  Conference  members  came 
together  in  groups  and  by  racial  affiliations  rather 
than  through  a  bond  of  identical  tasks  and  similar  ex- 
periences. At  Edinburgh,  moreover.  Occidentals, 
almost  all  of  whom  were  missionaries,  were  in  the 
overwhelming  majority.  It  is  true  that  a  few  able 
natives  were  present  from  the  great  mission  fields,  but 
with  rare  exceptions  these  delegates  were  silent  specta- 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS  13 

tors  of  a  movement  in  which  they  seemed  to  have 
Httle  part.  The  joint  result  of  so  ecumenical  a  gather- 
ing was  inevitably  somewhat  confusing;  and  its  con- 
tribution to  the  science  of  Missions  was  that  of  a  vast 
preliminary  collection  and  coordination  of  data  rather 
than  a  specific  study  of  distinct  problems,  isolated  from 
related  facts. 

Panama's  assembly  was  in  marked  contrast  to  Edin- 
burgh's. Missionary  experts  were  fewer,  but  ex- 
perienced missionaries  were  more  numerous,  counted 
by  percentages,  and  more  prominent  as  speakers.  In- 
stead of  being  representatives  of  a  score  of  races,  at 
Panama  the  Latins  w^ere  the  only  ones  present  besides 
the  men  and  women  who  had  identified  themselves 
with  the  Latin- American  world,  if  two  Indian  boy 
participants,  not  delegates,  are  excepted.  The  twenty 
republics  whence  the  delegates  came  are  singularly 
homogeneous,  and  their  problems  are  naturally  similar. 
While  portions  of  Latin  America  are  primitive  or 
backward,  Panama  as  a  whole  dealt  with  peoples  hav- 
ing a  civilization  akin  to  that  of  southwestern  Europe. 
Missionary  methods  are  almost  identical  throughout 
the  Latin  republics,  and  hence  there  was  a  common 
ground  to  be  traversed  with  the  hope  of  improvement 
all  along  the  line,  rather  than  with  the  necessity  of 
reconciling  opposed  methods  and  theories.  Instead 
of  the  ten  days'  monotony  of  addresses  in  English  by 
missionaries  almost  solely,  at  Panama  three  languages 
were  used  at  will.  Here  one  from  North  America 
learned  for  the  first  time  what  oratorical  possibilities 


14  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

lay  in  the  Iberian  tongues  and  in  the  Latin  mind.  If 
the  missionaries  supplied  the  Anglo-Saxon  poise  and 
richer  spiritual  experience,  their  Latin  brothers  and 
sisters  furnished  the  high  enthusiasm  and  the  cheering 
warmth  that  made  the  auditor  listen  with  rapt  atten- 
tion, even  when  the  address  was  in  a  tongue  which  he 
did  not  understand.  Here  was  a  simple,  single  set  of 
problems  and  a  homogeneous  company  of  workers  to 
discuss  them.  Even  on  the  religious  side,  they  had  not 
to  deal  with  faiths  as  divergent  as  Buddhism,  Moham- 
medanism and  Confucianism,  but  mainly  with  phases 
of  the  same  germinal  Christianity,  varying  with  its 
different  environment  and  racial  development.  Here 
was  the  possibility  of  a  scientific  determination  of  cer- 
tain forms  of  missionary  theory  and  method,  which 
within  three  months  began  to  find  their  formulation 
in  the  regional  conferences  following  upon  the  Con- 
gress at  Panama. 

In  a  word,  if  the  two  largest  missionary  conferences 
in  recent  years  are  compared,  Edinburgh  was  general, 
cosmopolitan,  unusually  varied  in  viewpoint  and  exten- 
sive in  scope,  while  Panama  was  specialized,  homogene- 
ous, united  and  uniform  in  Its  objectives  and  intensive 
in  its  investigations  and  discussions,  as  was  natural 
when  all  the  delegates  represented  a  single  great  divi- 
sion of  the  world.  While  the  attendance  was  much 
smaller  at  Panama,  the  total  number  being  481,  of 
whom  304  were  delegates  and  ofBcial  visitors  from 
twenty-one  different  nations,  this  very  fact  enabled 
those  present  to  become  more  closely  acquainted  and 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS  15 

to  feel  more  exhilaratingly  the  pulsations  of  real  unity 
than  was  possible  in  the  greater  gathering  at  Edin- 
burgh. The  statistics  of  the  Congress  may  suggest 
the  preponderance  of  outside  elements,  since  Latin- 
American  representatives  number  145  as  against  159 
delegates  and  official  visitors  from  Canada,  the  United 
States,  Great  Britain,  Spain  and  Italy;  yet  that  slight 
disparity  in  numbers  does  not  indicate  that  there  was  a 
corresponding  difference  in  viewpoint,  as  delegates 
from  outside  Latin  America  were  all  deeply  sympa- 
thetic with  the  objectives  and  desires  of  the  Latin- 
American  group. 

A  nearer  view  of  the  Congress  as  it  convened  at 
Panama  will  supply  the  needed  setting  for  the  fuller 
appreciation  of  its  important  deliberations.  The 
United  States  Government's  Hotel  Tivoli,  which  is  ap- 
proached through  a  stately  avenue  of  graceful  palm 
trees,  lies  on  the  verdant  slopes  of  Ancon  open  to  the 
cooling  breezes  from  the  Pacific, — an  item  of  great 
importance  in  the  tropics,  where  clothes  reduce  them- 
selves to  the  lowest  terms  of  Palm  Beach  suits  and 
Panama  hats  or  pith  helmets  for  the  men  and  the 
filmiest,  coolest  fabrics  for  the  women  delegates.  The 
spacious  lower  floor  is  devoted  mainly  to  the  great 
dining-room  and  the  equally  generous  ballroom.  The 
mountain  and  seaward  sides  of  each  of  these  were  open 
to  all  the  winds  of  heaven,  unless  a  chilly  morning  or 
evening  called  for  the  closing  of  glass  doors.  At  all 
times  the  beauty-loving  eye  could  turn  eastward  to  the 
placid  Pacific,  or  upward  in  the  opposite  direction  to 


t6  RENAISSANT  latin  AMERICA 

the  green  hillside,  covered  with  tropical  growths,  ex- 
cept where  punctuated  with  beautiful  residences  or 
government  buildings. 

From  the  high  ceilings  of  the  place  of  meeting  pend- 
ent flags  of  all  the  American  republics  lazily  responded 
to  the  intermittent  breezes,  as  did  the  great  palm 
fronds  that  adorned  the  pillars.  Three  sides  of  the 
hall  were  devoted  to  exhibits  of  books,  periodicals 
and  maps  of  the  various  regions  of  Latin  America,  the 
last  having  been  prepared  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
S.  W.  Boggs  for  the  inspection  and  criticism  of  the 
delegates.  Another  missionary  map  of  South  Amer- 
ica, measuring  nine  by  thirteen  feet,  also  prepared  by 
him,  was  the  background  of  the  platform.  A  separate 
alcove  of  the  room  was  devoted  to  the  striking  collec- 
tion of  the  American  Bible  Society's  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  publications. 

It  was  eminently  fitting  that  a  Latin  American,  Pro- 
fessor Eduardo  Monteverde  of  the  University  of 
Uruguay,  who  is  also  working  in  connection  with  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  Montevideo, 
should  have  been  elected  president  of  the  Congress. 
His  unfailing  courtesy,  kindly  smile,  forceful  speech, 
scholarly  achievements  and  devoted  Christian  life  made 
him  a  typical  representative  of  the  best  in  the  Latin- 
American  Evangelical  Church. 

Dr.  Robert  E.  Speer,  senior  secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States  of  America,  was  chairman  of  the 
day  sessions  devoted  to  the  hearing  and  discussion  of 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS        17 

the  eight  commission  reports,  a  man  too  well  known 
to  need  any  word  of  introduction  to  the  reader  of 
missionary  literature.  Under  his  firm  yet  kindly  con- 
duct of  these  sessions  the  Congress  moved  on  calmly 
and  almost  without  friction  even  when  the  topics  dis- 
cussed were  such  as  to  awaken  deep  feeling  on  opposite 
sides  of  important  questions.  The  chairman  of  the 
Business  Committee,  which  was  the  real  heart  of  the 
organism,  was  the  best  known  figure  in  the  mission 
world  to-day,  John  R.  Mott,  LL.D.  These  old-time 
friends  and  fellow  workers  were  pillars  upon  which 
the  strong  superstructure  of  the  Congress  securely 
rested,  standing,  as  they  did,  for  the  highest  mission- 
ary ideals  and  themselves  dwelling  in  the  manifest 
presence  of  God.  To  the  members  of  the  Business 
Committee  who  so  unstintingly  gave  their  time  be- 
tween sessions  to  many  vital  matters  affecting  the  con- 
duct and  efficiency  of  the  conference,  the  success  of 
the  gathering  was  largely  due. 

The  Congress  so  happily  domiciled  and  officered 
was  conducted  no  less  ideally.  Preceding  the  morn- 
ing session,  devoted  to  the  report  of  one  of  the  eight 
commissions  and  lasting  from  half  past  eight  until 
eleven,  came  a  period  of  silent  prayer  and  meditation 
followed  by  the  opening  devotional  exercises.  Each 
commission  was  allowed  half  an  hour  in  which  to  open 
and  close  its  presentation,  of  which  twenty  minutes 
were  ordinarily  given  to  its  introduction  and  ten  min- 
utes to  closing  at  the  afternoon  session.  At  eleven 
o'clock  the  delegates  turned  from  interesting  discus- 


i8  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

sions  to  an  uplifting  half  hour  of  devotion,  their 
thought  being  led  by  men  of  devout  mind  and  deep 
religious  experience  and  accentuated  by  accessory 
praise  and  intercession.  The  interval  between  eleven 
thirty  and  half  past  three,  when  the  Congress  recon- 
vened, was  variously  spent,  though  most  of  the  dele- 
gates made  it  a  time  for  social  intercourse,  seeing 
quaint  Panama  City,  only  five  minutes  walk  from  the 
hotel,  or  for  siestas,  suggested  not  so  much  by  the 
tropical  environment  as  by  the  strenuous  nature  of  the 
full  days.  The  afternoon  session  of  tw^o  hours  was 
set  apart  for  a  further  discussion  of  the  theme  of  the 
day.  No  speaker  at  either  of  the  sessions  could  become 
prolix  or  somnolent,  for  the  twofold  reason  that  the 
time  limit  of  seven  minutes,  when  a  speaker  was  cut 
short  by  an  inexorable  bell,  did  not  permit  him  to  com- 
plete his  unwelcome  task,  and  because  he  was  so 
anxious  to  make  his  point  that  he  spoke  directly — 
sometimes  tumultuously — to  his  subject  without  exor- 
dium or  peroration.  As  cards  were  signed  by  those 
desiring  to  speak  upon  any  subject,  the  Chairman  knew 
how  many  were  to  be  heard;  and  in  some  cases  the 
number  was  so  great  that  the  limit  was  cut  down  to 
five  minutes  or  even  less. 

The  languages  of  the  Congress  were  three.  Most 
spoke  in  English,  and  it  was  noticeable  that  of  those 
to  whom  it  was  not  the  natal  tongue  but  who  used  it 
on  the  platform,  the  Latin- American  women  usually 
surpassed  the  men.  When  Spanish  or  Portuguese  was 
used,  official  interpreters — summarizers  rather — were 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS        19 

provided  who  followed  the  speaker  with  an  English 
digest  of  what  had  been  said,  usually  half  as  full  as 
the  original  address.  The  Rev.  Webster  E.  Browning, 
Ph.D.,  of  Santiago,  was  the  one  who  thus  aided  the 
Spanish  speakers;  and  his  summaries  were  notably 
clear  and  pointed.  The  Rev.  H.  C.  Tucker,  D.D.,  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  similarly  served  the  Portuguese  dele- 
gates, and  his  interpretations  were  unusually  felicitous 
in  point  of  following  closely  the  spirit  and  oratorical 
forms  of  his  originals.  In  some  cases  a  speaker  would 
give  what  he  had  to  say  in  his  native  tongue  and  then 
immediately  follow  it  with  his  own  English  rendering, 
a  conspicuous  example  being  Senor  E.  Lefevre,  Minis- 
ter of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  Panama  Republic,  whose 
cordial  address  of  welcome  on  the  opening  evening 
w^as  thus  repeated  in  faultless  English. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  morning  and  afternoon 
sessions  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  commission  re- 
ports, a  more  popular  gathering  was  held  in  the  even- 
ings, when  themes  not  connected  with  the  commissions 
were  presented  by  distinguished  Latin-American  and 
English-speaking  ladies  and  gentlemen.  While  the 
Congress  did  not  convene  on  Sunday,  on  the  evening 
of  February  thirteenth  most  of  the  delegates  attended 
a  session  held  in  the  Instituto  Nacional  where  Dr.  Mott 
had  been  invited  to  address  them  and  the  citizens  of 
Panama  upon  his  observations  and  impressions  of  the 
unparalleled  European  conflict, — an  address  that 
throbbed  with  Christian  passion,  sympathy  and  tender- 
ness.   On  that  occasion,  which  was  made  a  semi-formal 


20  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

reception  to  members  of  the  Congress,  Dr.  E.  G.  Dex- 
ter, rector  of  the  Institute,  and  Senor  G.  Andreve,  Sec- 
retary of  PubHc  Instruction,  voiced  Panama's  welcome 
to  the  speaker  and  to  the  Congress  also.  Both  Sun- 
days were  filled  with  services  from  one  end  of  the 
Canal  Zone  to  the  other  at  which  delegates  spoke  with 
power  and  great  acceptance. 

While  the  United  States  Government  and  its  Canal 
officials  did  not  formally  greet  the  Congress,  they 
graciously  invited  its  members  to  inspect  the  Canal 
through  its  most  typical  and  important  sections.  On 
Tuesday  afternoon,  the  delegates  entered  into  picnic 
mood  and  boarding  the  train  comported  themselves  as 
students  on  holiday.  Arriving  at  Pedro  Miguel,  they 
detrained  and  inspected  with  keen  interest  the  con- 
struction and  mechanism  of  the  gigantic  locks  as  the 
vessel  which  was  to  carry  the  party  to  Gatun  Lake 
passed  through.  The  sail  thither  impressed  the  dele- 
gates with  the  unappreciated  magnitude  of  this  colossal 
undertaking,  especially  at  Culebra  Cut,  where  busy 
dredges  were  finishing  the  work  caused  by  the  great 
slide.  One  of  these  the  following  Saturday  established 
a  world's  record  for  a  day's  dredging,  which  was  at 
the  rate  of  nearly  twenty-five  tons  of  mud  and  rock 
per  minute.  To  the  few  who  knew  Panama  in  the  old 
days,  no  less  wonderful  than  the  engineering  triumphs 
of  General  Goethals  was  the  marvelous  transformation 
due  to  General  Gorgas,  whereby  this  miasmatic,  mos- 
quito-infested region,  where  yellow  fever  conquered 
the  French  Canal  builders,  has  become  a  health  resort. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS  21 

Though  the  screened  porches  of  most  of  the  buildings 
suggest  winged  enemies  of  man,  so  relentless  is  the 
warfare  against  them  that  the  present  writer  saw  only 
one  fly  and  not  a  solitary  mosquito  during  the  entire 
ten  days  of  his  sojourn  there,  while  many  delegates 
did  not  see  any. 

Panama,  lying  below  Ancon  and  only  a  short  dis- 
tance away,  was  the  laboratory  to  which  those  members 
of  the  Congress  frequently  resorted  who  had  never 
seen  a  Latin-American  town.  This  somewhat  typical 
Spanish  city  still  has  its  Sunday  bull  fights,  its  Sunday 
lottery  drawings  held  in  a  section  of  the  Bishop's  resi- 
dence diagonally  opposite  the  Cathedral,  the  Cathedral 
itself  and  the  cosmopolitan  population  which  consti- 
tutes its  charm  and  its  problem,  as  in  so  many  Latin- 
American  centers.  It  was  less  helpful  from  the  labora- 
tory view^point  in  that  little  w^ork  Is  done  by  missions 
for  any  except  the  negroes,  who  are  of  an  unusually 
fine  type,  coming  mostly  from  Jamaica.  At  the  Sea 
Wall  Methodist  church,  however,  those  labored  for 
are  Spanish-speaking  people,  except  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing, when  the  audience  is  mixed.  The  presence  at  this 
particular  center  of  a  large  number  of  young  soldiers 
has  complicated  the  task,  as  Is  so  often  the  case  when 
moral  restraints  are  relaxed  In  a  city  where  tempta- 
tions to  lust  and  debauchery  are  present. 

What  Panama  and  the  Congress  there  assembled 
were  to  be  to  the  delegates  and  to  the  Latin-American 
world  was  foreshadow^ed  by  Bishop  Oldham  at  the 
very  opening  of  its  sessions.     In  his  uplifting  prayer 


22  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

were  these  petitions :  "Many,  many  hearts  have  longed 
and  hoped  and  prayed  for  this  hour.  They  have 
watched  and  they  have  waited,  and  they  have  scarcely 
known  sometimes  whether  their  eyes  would  see  this 
hour.  And  now  the  hour  has  come  when,  gathered 
from  many  parts  of  the  world,  we  are  assembled  to  put 
together  our  plans,  our  visions,  our  hopes,  our  fears, 
and  to  ask  that  out  of  them  all  there  may  come  one 
great  plan,  one  great  purpose,  one  great  throbbing  de- 
sire, beyond  anything  that  we  have  yet  known,  to  bring 
good  to  all  here  assembled.  .  .  .  Grant  that  in 
the  midst  of  everything,  placed  as  we  are  at  such  a 
time  in  the  world's  history  as  this, — that  here  may  be 
one  beautiful,  glorious,  luminous  spot  from  which  all 
Christendom  shall  take  larger  courage  and  firmer 
hope.  .  .  .  May  this  be  a  mount  of  vision,  and 
may  the  Lord  God  Himself  reveal  unto  us  the  things 
we  are  to  do  and  what  we  are  to  be." 

And  the  support  and  inspiration  of  those  memor- 
able days  of  counsel  and  deliberation  were  found  in  a 
simple  incident,  reported  from  an  experience  of  Dr. 
Speer  in  the  Philippine  Islands  in  1915.  A  Filipino 
school  teacher,  in  an  address  of  welcome,  said  to  the 
Board  delegation  that  he  hoped  those  friends  had  come 
"to  bring  some  sweet  word  from  our  dear  Lord.''  In 
his  recital  of  the  incident  Dr.  Speer  added :  "I  thought 
of  all  the  Christian  experience  that  lay  back  of  that 
phrasing  of  the  desire  of  this  Filipino  youth,  of  all  that 
it  signified  to  us,  .  .  .  the  abiding  longing  of 
our  hearts  always  and  in  every  place,  to  hear  again,  to 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CONGRESS  23 

hear  anew,  'some  sweet  word  from  our  dear  Lord.'  '* 
Once  and  again,  and  every  hour  oftentimes,  "some 
sweet  word"  would  fall  from  lips  touched  by  their 
Lord  that  whispered  peace  and  comfort  and  wisdom 
and  strength  and  the  assurance  of  success  in  that 
bright  future  of  Latin-American  missions,  when  what 
was  so  prayerfully  and  devoutly  sought  out  on  the 
green  slopes  of  Ancon  looking  toward  the  sunrising 
should  be  believed  by  the  Church  and  wrought  into 
the  spiritual  and  common  life  of  all  Latin- American 
lands. 


II 

REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA 

As  it  is  proposed  to  present  in  this  volume  each  of 
the  reports  of  the  eight  commissions  in  a  single  chap- 
ter, including  the  discussions  connected  with  its  presen- 
tation,— material  twenty-fold  more  extended  than  the 
chapter  itself, — it  is  obviously  impossible  to  do  more 
than  select  what  seems  of  greatest  importance  in  con- 
nection with  each  theme  and  condense  even  that 
modicum.  The  reader  is  referred  for  details  and  ad- 
ditional phases  of  each  topic  to  the  three-volume  re- 
port of  the  Congress,  containing  the  full  statements 
of  the  eight  commissions  as  finally  edited,  with  the 
correctives  due  to  the  discussions  of  the  Congress  in- 
corporated in  the  text. 

To  Commission  I  on  "Survey  and  Occupation," 
whose  Chairman  was  Mr.  E.  T.  Colton,  was  entrusted 
the  important  task  of  laying  before  the  delegates  the 
results  of  its  careful  investigation  of  the  varied  condi- 
tions bearing  directly  or  indirectly  upon  the  mission- 
ary occupation  of  Latin- American  lands.  It  was  thus 
a  preview  for  the  other  Commissions. 

As  delimited  by  the  Commission,  Latin  America  in- 
cludes all  the  areas  south  of  the  Rio  Grande,  consist- 
ing of  ten  republics  north  and  ten  south  of  the  Panama 

25 


26  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Canal  Zone,  and  of  colonies  of  France,  Great  Britain, 
Holland,  Denmark  and  the  Zone  itself,  administered 
like  Porto  Rico  by  the  United  States.  Inhabiting  this 
generous  territory  of  8,459,081  square  miles  is  a 
population  of  80,203,902, — largely  estimated  rather 
than  counted.  These  figures  need  to  be  compared  with 
more  familiar  units  to  be  fully  appreciated.  Thus  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  excluding  Alaska, 
could  be  superimposed  upon  the  United  States  of 
Brazil  with  room  enough  left  to  accommodate  two 
additional  New  Englands  and  New  Jerseys,  plus  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania.  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  would  not  quite  fill  Ecua- 
dor, that  tiny  triangle  on  South  America's  map. 
Nearly  thirteen  New  Englands  could  be  packed  into 
our  next-door  neighbor,  Mexico;  while  Argentina  is 
almost  one-third  as  large  as  all  British  territory  in 
North  America.  Compared  with  populations  of  other 
mission  fields,  Latin  America's  inhabitants  equal  in 
number  the  negroes  in  all  of  Africa,  according  to 
recent  conservative  estimates,  or  the  combined  popula- 
tion of  the  great  mission  fields  of  the  Japanese  Empire, 
— including  Korea  and  Formosa, — the  Turkish  Empire 
and  the  Union  of  South  Africa.  Anglo-Saxon  Amer- 
ica outnumbers  by  little  more  than  a  third  Latin  Amer- 
ica's populations. 

It  was  prospective  areas  and  populations,  however, 
rather  than  present  figures,  that  quickened  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  Congress.  While  the  boundaries  cannot  be 
enlarged,  areas  now  useless  were  spread  before  the 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  27 

delegates  as  inviting  fields  of  bright  promise.     Thus 
the  forest-covered  regions  of  Central  America,  Colom- 
bia, Venezuela,  the  Guianas,  parts  of  Ecuador  and 
Peru  and  equatorial  Brazil — at  present  least  desirable 
for   immigration — are   nevertheless   well    adapted   to 
negroes,  Hindus,  Indians,  and  other  races  acclimated 
to  the  tropics;   so  that  instead   of   sixteen   millions 
occupying  the  fringes  of  these  regions,  the  area  and 
habitableness  of  much  more  of  these  sections  can  be 
extended  to  accommodate  more  than  sixty  millions. 
In  regions  more  adapted  to  white  men,  Argentina, 
Uruguay  and   Southern  Brazil,   there  are  a  million 
square  miles  available  for  se;ttlement,  where  it  is  pre- 
dicted that  a  population  of  one  hundred  millions  of 
people  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  century,  with 
an  ultimate  capacity  of  twice  as  many.  Senor  Calderon 
predicts  that  in  the  year  2000,  Latin  America  will 
domicile  250,000,000  people.    While  few  would  agree 
with  the  famous  French  geographer  Reclus  in  his  state- 
ment that  it  will  finally  support  two  billions  of  peo- 
ple, the  estimate  that  it  will  one  day  maintain  half  a 
billion,    or    almost    one-third    the    world's    present 
population,  is  quite  believable. 

To  this  land  of  desire,  the  last  great  unoccupied 
area  of  the  habitable  world  except  sections  of  Africa, 
a  stream  of  immigration  is  already  setting,  so  that  in 
19 1 3  about  a  million  immigrants  landed  on  Latin- 
American  shores  while  nearly  half  that  number  re- 
turned home, — forty-five  percent,  as  against  forty  per- 
cent, returning  home  from  the  United  States  the  year 


28  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

before.  Most  are  from  European  lands,  but  the  num- 
ber of  Japanese  immigrants  is  increasing  and  many- 
come  from  China  and  India.  French,  Italian,  Spanish 
and  Portuguese  arrivals  do  not  need  to  change  their 
type  of  civilization  and  are  speedily  absorbed;  v^hile 
North  Americans,  Englishmen  and  Germans  require 
one  or  two  generations  of  life  in  Latin  America  before 
assimilation  does  its  work.  During  this  period  of 
absorption  and  assimilation,  it  is  vastly  important  that 
a  religious  atmosphere  more  helpful  than  is  found 
there  at  present  should  be  provided. 

The  Commission  could  not  omit  from  its  purview 
the  vast  resources  of  Latin  America,  which  are  the 
bait  alluring  immigrants,  commerce,  and  capital  to 
the  Latin  hook,  and  at  the  same  time  the  substantial 
foundation  for  the  belief  that  this  part  of  the  world 
is  one  of  great  prospective  importance  from  the  Chris- 
tian viewpoint. 

Despite  the  fact  that  much  of  its  area  is  an  im- 
penetrable jungle  of  coarse  grass,  rainless  regions  of 
sandy  soil,  swamps,  miasmatic  forests  and  lofty  moun- 
tain tracts,  there  is  incalculable  wealth  in  products  of 
forest,  ranch,  farm  and  mine.  Half  the  rubber  of  the 
world  comes  from  tropical  America.  Argentina  alone 
in  1914  possessed  123,612,000  cattle,  horses,  sheep — 
eighty  millions  of  these, — goats,  mules,  pigs,  etc.  Four- 
fifths  of  the  world's  coffee  supply  comes  from  Brazil, 
and  its  diamond  fields  supply  more  briUiants  than  any 
part  of  the  world  except  South  Africa.  Virgin 
forests  of  Latin  America  abound  in  rosewood  and 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  20 

other  valuable  timber,  Chile's  sterile  land  supplied  in 
19 1 3  nitrates  valued  at  $120,000,000.  Cuba,  the 
greatest  sugar-cane  raiser  of  the  world,  in  19 14  pro- 
duced 2,575,000  tons  of  sugar,  and  its  capital  city 
supplied  other  countries  with  183,234,330  cigars. 
Four  years  ago  Argentina  milled  1,345,568  tons  of 
wheat.  The  supposedly  barren  wastes  of  Peru  the 
same  year  yielded  1,740,024  tons  of  sugar-cane,  while 
from  its  mines  were  shipped  nearly  ten  million  dollars 
w^orth  of  copper, — and  so  on  endlessly.  Resulting  from 
this  wealth  of  productions,  international  trade  has 
grown  from  two  billion  dollars  to  three  billions  dur- 
ing the  last  ten  years;  and  the  Hon.  John  Barrett 
predicts  that  in  the  five  years  following  the  war  this 
trade  will  increase  to  five  billions.  To  transport  this 
costly  product  twenty-five  steamship  lines  from  North 
America  and  over  fifty  from  Europe  ply  back  and 
forth,  with  Japan's  commercial  fleets  coming  thither 
from  the  Far  East.  Here,  surely,  are  the  guarantees 
of  future  increasing  populations ;  here,  also  is  the  cer- 
tainty of  increasing,  selfish  greed  which  needs  the 
altruistic  touch  of  the  living  Christ,  in  order  to  heal 
the  inevitable  leprous  growth  of  a  materialistic  civiliza- 
tion. 

A  study  of  Latin  Americans  already  domiciled  in 
these  republics  and  the  heirs  of  four  centuries  of  Ibero- 
American  environment  and  influence  is  the  discovery 
of  peoples  of  mingled  strength  and  weakness.  That 
early  inheritance  must  always  be  remembered.  "When 
the  Spaniards  came  to  the  New  World,"  writes  Lord 


30  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Bryce,  ''they  came  mainly  for  the  sake  of  gold.  .  .  . 
Few  settlers  came  from  Spain  to  till  the  land.  The 
first  object  was  to  seize  all  that  could  be  found  of  the 
precious  metals,  much  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
natives,  who  thought  that  gold  must  be  to  them  a 
sort  of  fetich.  The  next  was  to  discover  mines  of 
those  metals  and  make  the  Indians  work  them.  The 
third  was  to  divide  up  the  more  fertile  districts  into 
large  estates,  allotting  to  each  adventurer  his  share  of 
labor-natives  along  with  his  share  of  the  lands.  No 
settlers  came  out  to  clear  the  ground  from  wood  and 
build  homes  upon  it,  as  did  the  colonists  of  New  Eng- 
land and  those  who  sought  to  create  a  New  France 
on  the  St.  Lawrence.  No  Spaniard  thought  of  tilling 
the  land  himself.  Why  should  he  when  he  could  make 
others  till  it  for  him?  .  .  .  Accordingly,  the  in- 
vaders became  a  ruling  caste,  living  on  the  labor  of 
their  Indian  serfs,  and  for  a  long  time  they  confined 
themselves  to  the  lands  upon  which  the  latter  were  al- 
ready established."  And  these  conquistadores,  "brave, 
hardy,  romantic  and  warlike,"  as  Francisco  Yanes 
rightly  describes  them,  were  equalled  by  the  Paulistas 
of  Southern  Brazil  who  as  a  racial  blend  of  Portuguese 
and  Indian  marched  as  handeirantes,  or  banner-men, 
on  similar  errands  of  Indian  conquest  and  golden 
achievement.  Red  men  proving  insufficient  in  num- 
ber and  unequal  to  the  blacks  as  laborers,  Africa  was 
robbed  to  supply  the  eastern  half  of  the  continent  with 
slaves.  From  that  early  period  onward,  the  white  man 
has  been  dependent  largely  upon  these  two  racial  ele- 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  31 

ments,  to  the  detriment  of  his  blood  and  of  his  own  best 
development. 

And  yet  we  of  the  Anglo-American  race  do  not 
fairly  estimate  the  Latin  American.  Quoting  again 
from  the  Assistant  Director  of  the  Pan  American 
Union,  Mr.  Yanes:  "I  may  say  that  a  charge  fre- 
quently made  against  us  Latin  Americans,  and  in  a 
sense  true,  is  that  we  are  a  race  of  dreamers.  Perhaps 
it  is  so.  We  inherited  from  our  forefathers  the  love 
of  the  beautiful  and  grand,  the  facility  for  expression 
and  the  vivid  imagination  of  our  race.  From  them 
we  inherited  the  sonorous,  majestic  Spanish,  the 
flexible,  musical  Portuguese,  and  the  French — language 
of  art,  and  a  responsive  chord  to  all  that  thrills,  be  it 
color,  harmony,  or  mental  imagery.  We  inherited 
their  varying  moods,  their  noble  traits  and  their  short- 
comings, both  of  which  we  have  preserved  and  in  cer- 
tain cases  improved  under  the  influence  of  our  environ- 
ment,— our  majestic  mountains,  our  primeval  forests, 
the  ever  blooming  tropical  flowers,  the  birds  of  sweet- 
est wild  songs  and  wonderful  plumage, — under  magnif- 
icent skies  and  the  inspiration  taken  from  other  poets 
and  writers,  be  they  foreign  or  native,  who  have  gone 
through  life  like  the  minstrels  of  old  with  a  song  on 
their  lips  and  an  unsatisfied  yearning  in  their  hearts." 
This  is  typical  of  the  best  Latin  Americans. 

Those  early  adventurers  may  have  been  dominated 
by  forces  that  Professor  Shepherd  compresses  within 
his  quotation,  ''gospel,  glory  and  gold;"  yet  be  it  said 
that  the  first  of  these  w^as  never  wanting,  no  matter 


32  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

how  we  may  evaluate  it.  And  thus  it  happens  that 
the  bright  Hning  of  that  dark  cloud  was  the  devotion — 
flaming  forth  again  and  again — in  such  heroic  souls  as 
animated  Jesuit,  Franciscan  and  Dominican  curas, 
doctrineros  and  misioneros — priests,  catechists  and 
missionary  monks — who  braved  danger  of  every  de- 
scription to  aid  their  degraded  charges.  How  the  work 
of  the  Jesuits  impressed  itself  upon  Indians  of  the 
Paraguayan  reductions  is  a  miracle  of  missions,  albeit 
wrought  to  the  destruction  of  all  native  initiative  and 
of  true  manliness.  The  author  last  quoted  holds  that 
the  Spanish  clergy  had  three  motives  in  dealing  with 
the  Indians,  "destruction,  construction  and  instruc- 
tion." Of  these  destruction  was  sometimes  mere  icono- 
clastic zeal  which  did  not  seem  to  conflict  with  the 
retention  of  much  that  was  heathenish,  kept  ''because 
of  their  ignorance  and  weak  minds.'*  Too  often  in 
the  early  years  conversions,  forbidden  to  be  through 
force,  were  the  result  of  entradas  and  conquistas  de 
almas,  which  entries  and  conquests  of  souls  were  made 
by  missionaries  accompanied  by  soldiers  who  raided 
villages  and  carried  off  children  and  youths  to  be 
taught  Spanish  and  instructed  in  the  Catholic  faith. 
Yet  over  against  multitudes  of  these  shepherds  may 
be  placed  one  such  saint  as  Las  Casas,  the  "Apostle  to 
the  Indies" — as  "seamy"  a  saint  as  some  of  St.  Paul's 
Corinthian  charges,  some  historians  think,  yet  one 
whose  influence  contributed  in  large  measure  to  the 
enactment  of  humane  legislation  that  became  a  feature 
of  later  Spanish  policy.    These  are  sample  leaves  from 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  33 

the  history  of  the  early  centuries,  turned  that  the 
reader  may  see  the  origin  of  many  things  in  Latin- 
American  Hfe  to-day  that  he  may  fail  to  understand 
otherwise. 

Recalling  such  historical  incidents,  many  Anglo- 
Americans  are  surprised  to  find  what  unusual  men 
and  women  their  Latin  neighbors  are.  They  have 
among  them  universities  in  Lima,  Mexico  City,  Cor- 
doba in  Argentina  and  Sucre  which  began  their  work 
from  thirteen  to  eighty-five  years  before  Harvard  was 
established,  while  Peru's  second  University  at  Cuzco 
antedates  Yale  by  nine  years.  The  printing  press  came 
to  the  New  World  in  1536,  when  its  first  book  was 
printed  in  Mexico,  Father  Las  Casas'  plea  for  a  bet- 
ter life,  while  South  America's  first  book  was  published 
in  Peru  about  1584.  Patriots  of  undying  fame  laid 
the  foundations  of  Latin- American  liberty: — Bolivar, 
called  the  Washington  of  South  America,  though  San 
Martin  was  more  like  him  than  Bolivar;  O'Higgins, 
the  Chilean  hero ;  Tiradentes,  the  forerunner  of  Brazil- 
ian independence;  Morelos  and  Hidalgo,  Catholic 
priests  and  martyrs  in  the  cause  of  Mexican  liberty. 
Latin-American  literature  ranks  fairly  well  with 
Anglo-American,  though  ignorance  of  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  prevents  North  Americans  from  enjoying 
its  treasures.  Science  is  honored  by  such  names  as 
Ernesto  Quesada,  the  sociologist,  whose  library  con- 
tains 25,000  volumes  in  which  his  own  writings  fill  a 
five-foot  shelf.  Estanislao  Zeballos,  the  jurist,  has  a 
collection  of  28,000  volumes,  and  his  published  works 


34  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

require  nine  feet  of  shelf-room.  International  law- 
has  been  enriched  by  such  authorities  as  Drago  and 
Calvo  of  Argentina  and  Ruy  Barbosa  of  Brazil.  It 
was  a  young  physician,  Dr.  Oswaldo  Cruz,  who 
transformed  Rio  de  Janeiro  from  a  "City  of  Death" 
into  the  healthy  tropical  metropolis  of  two  years  later. 
A  Cuban,  Dr.  Carlos  A.  Finley,  discovered  and  an- 
nounced the  communication  of  yellow  fever  by  mos- 
quitoes, freely  acknowledged  by  General  Gorgas  and 
Dr.  Reed  as  the  foundation  for  their  later  elaboration 
and  application  in  the  Panama  Canal  Zone.  Poets, 
painters,  sculptors,  musicians,  bear  Latin-American 
names  of  high  distinction.  And  those  present  at  the 
Panama  Congress  listened  to  Latins  w^hose  ability  as 
representatives  of  diplomacy,  law,  education  and  re- 
ligion was  abundantly  evident. 

As  the  Commission  was  seeking  for  all  the  truth, 
it  did  not  hide  from  view  the  other  side  of  this  shin- 
ing shield.  A  brief  table  will  show  its  racial  basis,  as 
roughly  divided  into  seven  classes : 

Whites  18,000,000 

Indians  17,000,000 

Negroes  6,000,000 

Mixed  White  and  Indian 30,000,000 

Mixed  White  and  Negro 8,000,000 

Mixed  Negro  and  Indian 700,000 

East  Indian,  Japanese  and  Chinese 300,000 

Of  Latin  America's  eighty  millions,  it  is  mainly 
the  eighteen  millions  of  whites  who  are  measurably 
what  one  finds  in  Europe  or  North  America.     The 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  35 

remaining  seventy-seven  percent,  are  not  so  cultured, 
and  most  of  them  are  in  manifold  need. 

Of  the  mixed  populations  it  may  be  said  that  they 
are  favored  in  one  particular  above  those  in  North 
America,  namely,  in  the  absence  of  any  distinct  color 
line,  whether  red  or  black.  One's  position  in  society 
need  not  be  affected  by  any  degree  of  miscegenation, 
as  some  of  Latin  America's  most  famous  men  have 
been  of  mixed  ancestry.  Social  status  depends,  rather, 
upon  innate  ability,  financial  standing,  mentality  and 
social  gifts.  Though  more  than  a  score  of  terms  are 
in  use  to  denote  varying  degrees  of  race  admixture, 
Senor  Calderon  rightly  says:  "A  single  half-caste 
race,  with  here  the  negro  and  there  the  Indian  pre- 
dominant over  the  conquering  Spaniard,  obtains  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  There  is  a  greater 
resemblance  between  Peruvians  and  Argentines, 
Colombians  and  Chilians,  than  between  inhabitants 
of  two  distant  provinces  of  France,  ...  or  be- 
tween the  North  American  of  the  far  West  and  the 
native  of  New  England.  The  slight  provincial  dif- 
ferences enable  us  the  better  to  understand  the  unity 
of  the  continent."  Yet  he  necessarily  adds:  "There 
is  a  spontaneous  hierarchy  in  the  Latin  New  World; 
there  are  superior  and  inferior  democracies,  maritime 
nations  and  inland  states.  Paraguay  will  always  be 
inferior  to  the  Argentine  Republic,  Uruguay  to  Brazil, 
Bolivia  to  Chile,  Ecuador  to  Peru,  Guatemala  to 
Mexico;  as  much  from  the  point  of  wealth  as  in 
population  and  influence." 


Z6  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

As  to  the  effects  of  the  almost  universal  mis- 
cegenation, Lord  Bryce's  studies  and  South  American 
observations  find  brief  expression  in  these  con- 
clusions :  ( I )  The  fusion  of  two  parent  stocks,  one 
more  advanced,  the  other  more  backward,  does  not 
necessarily  result  in  producing  a  race  inferior  to  the 
stronger  parent  or  superior  to  the  weaker.  (2)  Con- 
quest and  control  by  a  race  of  greater  strength  have 
upon  some  races  a  depressing  and  almost  ruinous 
effect,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Peruvians  after  the  com- 
ing of  the  conquisfadores.  (3)  The  ease  with  which 
the  Spaniards  intermingled  by  marriage  with  the  In- 
dians, and  the  Portuguese  with  the  negroes,  shows 
that  race  repugnance  is  no  such  constant  factor  in 
human  affairs  as  Teutonic  peoples  are  apt  to  assume. 
(4)  As  touching  the  future,  it  seems  certain  that  the 
races  now  inhabiting  South  America  will  all  ulti- 
mately be  fused.  The  Spanish  republics — except  the 
purely  white  Argentina  and  Uruguay — will  be  Ibero- 
American,  Brazil  will  be  Ibero-American-African, 
the  process  requiring  in  the  Spanish  republics  two 
centuries  or  more.  (5)  Of  the  quality  of  the  emerging 
mixed  race,  he  writes :  "One  cannot  but  fear  that 
the  Portuguese  of  tropical  Brazil  may  suffer  from 
the  further  infusion  of  an  element  the  moral  fiber 
of  which  is  conspicuously  weak,  though  there  are 
those  who  argue  that  the  blood  of  the  superior  race 
must  ultimately  transmute  the  whole.  It  is  not  to  be 
assumed  that  the  peoples  of  the  Spanish  republics  will 
necessarily  decline,  for  the  present  degradation  of  the 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  37 

Indians  may  be  due  as  much  to  their  melancholy 
history  as  to  inherent  defects.  It  is  still  too  soon  to 
be  despondent.  There  may  be  in  the  Indian  stock  a 
reserve  of  strength,  dormant,  but  not  extinct,  ready  to 
respond  to  a  new  stimulus  and  to  shoot  upwards  under 
more  inspiriting  conditions."  Speaking  elsewhere  of 
the  probable  influence  of  the  negro  strain,  he  says: 
''What  ultimate  effect  the  intermixture  of  blood  will 
have  on  the  European  element  in  Brazil  I  will  not 
venture  to  predict.  If  one  may  judge  from  a  few 
remarkable  cases,  it  will  not  necessarily  reduce  the 
intellectual  standard.  One  of  the  ablest  and  most  re- 
fined Brazilians  I  have  known  had  some  color,  and 
other  cases  have  been  mentioned  to  me." 

Stated  in  a  single  paragraph,  the  three  outstanding 
social  groupings  as  they  face  the  missionary  are  the 
Indians,  the  lower  peon  class,  and  the  aristocratic 
land-owning  class.  Generally  speaking,  there  is  no  mid- 
dle class  such  as  exists  in  Europe  and  North  America, 
although  in  commercial  centers  one  is  beginning  to 
form.  Most  of  the  Indians  are  still  primitive,  though 
members  of  the  race  have  risen  to  prominence,  Benito 
Juarez  of  Mexico  and  a  number  of  Peru's  Indian 
presidents,  for  example.  To-day  most  of  the  Indians 
are  pitifully  ignorant  and  are  practically  neglected  by 
social  and  religious  agencies.  They  are  prolific,  but 
unsanitary  conditions  and  ignorance  of  hygiene  cause 
a  high  death-rate.  The  peon  class,  next  above  the 
Indians,  is  of  mixed  blood,  the  union  having  produced 
a  hardy  race.     They  are  capable  of  enduring  hard 


38  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

work  on  a  meager  diet  and  live  in  squalor.  They  are 
oppressed  by  the  landed  class,  and  neglected  by  the 
Church  and  by  most  of  the  states.  Between  the  third — 
or  aristocratic — class  and  the  other  two  a  gulf  is  fixed 
that  can  be  most  easily  bridged  by  gold.  Its  members 
dominate  most  things,  live  in  luxury  and  provide  their 
fam.ilies  with  every  desirable  means  for  enjoying  life 
— like  wealthy  persons  in  most  lands.  Yet,  as  already 
suggested,  they  do  not  strive  to  keep  down  the  lower 
classes,  nor  is  intermarriage  with  promising  women 
of  color  tabooed. 

Follow^ing  its  detailed  survey  of  Latin-American 
races,  here  only  cursorily  touched  upon,  Commission 
I  presented  the  claims  of  these  peoples  upon  the 
evangelical  Churches  of  more  favored  lands.  Immi- 
gration and  commerce,  the  world  over,  tend  to  be 
destructive  to  morals  and  religion  through  the  removal 
of  home  restraints,  the  absence  of  helps  to  higher  liv- 
ing in  the  new  and  usually  low  environment  of  the 
fresh  immigrant  on  foreign  shores,  or  the  convivial 
habits  of  men  engaged  in  foreign  firms,  where 
one's  associates  have  often  little  respect  for  morals 
and  religion.  The  Commission  bore  testimony  to  the 
godly  lives  and  helpful  influence  of  many  business 
men  of  Latin  America,  but  regretted  to  report  that 
in  so  many  cases  moral  tragedies  of  colonization  and 
commerce  were  the  result  of  New  World  contact.  Too 
often  one  derelict,  hailing  from  Europe  or  North 
America,  means  the  destruction  or  crippling  of  many 
lesser   Latin   craft   with   which   there   has   been   in- 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  39 

jurious  collision.  The  manifest  duty  of  Anglo-Saxon 
Christians  is  to  abate  the  evils  engendered  by  coloniza- 
tion and  commerce.  Where  one's  countrymen  exploit, 
one  must  serve.  The  character-building  forces  of 
nations  that  export  the  products  of  breweries,  dis- 
tilleries and  other  instruments  of  debauchery  should 
outreach  and  circumvent  those  destructive  agencies. 

The  imminent  peril  to  faith  seen  among  all  classes 
of  Latin  Americans  is  an  even  stronger  appeal  to 
evangelical  Churches.  Very  few  among  the  intel- 
lectuals have  any  vital  interest  in  Christianity.  The 
Latin-American  Church,  untouched  by  the  modern 
learning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  did  not  concern 
itself  with  the  new  rationalism,  materialism,  pessi- 
mism and  naturalism  whose  full  force  engulfed  the 
Latin  scholar  who  studied  in  home  or  foreign  uni- 
versities where  such  movements  were  dominant.  Un- 
aided in  their  hour  of  need,  the  faith  of  educated 
men  suffered  shipwreck,  or  found  itself  in  gravest  peril. 
Four  groups  are  noted  among  the  intellectuals,  though 
of  varying  numbers  and  importance :  ( i )  A  violent 
anti-clerical  party,  many  of  whom  extend  their  opposi- 
tion to  religion  of  every  form;  (2)  the  more  or  less 
well-reasoned  atheists  and  skeptics  who  look  in- 
dulgently upon  religion  as  harmless  for  women  and 
for  the  lower  classes,  but  who  themselves  are  indif- 
ferent to  its  personal  claims;  (3)  the  dissatisfied 
groups  who  are  groping  their  way  in  the  darkness 
with  the  usual  result  of  ending  in  cynicism  and  hard- 
ness of  heart;  and  (4)  those  whose  period  of  doubt 


40  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

and  of  faith's  collapse  is  before  them  as  they  enter 
upon  their  free  higher  education.  As  one  listens  to 
the  roll-call  of  Latin  republics,  one  is  appalled  by  the 
prevalence  of  all  degrees  of  unbelief  and  of  opposition 
to  Christianity.  Surely  doubt  and  denial  of  all  faiths, 
spreading  apace  and  unchecked  among  eighty  millions 
of  people,  concern  the  entire  Christian  world. 
Churches  with  modern  religious  scholarship  and 
strong  faith  are  bound  to  offer  intellectual  Latins  the 
torch  with  which  to  relight  the  failing  or  darkened 
lamps  of  Christian  belief  and  life. 

Whatever  doubt  there  may  be  about  the  justinable- 
ness  of  sending  representatives  of  evangelical  missions 
to  Roman  Catholic  Latin  America,  there  can  be  no 
valid  objection  to  heeding  the  claims  of  its  unevangel- 
ized  millions,  especially  the  neglected  Indians.  That 
section  of  the  Commission's  report  might  be  reprinted 
with  profit  as  a  clarion  call,  voicing  the  deepest  of 
Latin-American  spiritual  needs.  Neglect,  if  you  will, 
the  thirty  millions  of  mestizos,  whose  nominal 
Christianity  is  little  better  than  a  "baptized  heathen- 
ism," as  a  Romanist  once  described  it,  seventeen  mil- 
lions of  approximately  pure-blooded  Indians  remain 
for  whom  very  little  has  been  done.  These  and  the 
six  millions  of  pure-blpoded  negroes,  also  practically 
neglected,  are  peoples  whose  physical,  social  and 
spiritual  condition  is  a  mute  yet  moving  Macedonian 
appeal  to  the  evangelical  Church. 

The  study  of  the  Latin-American  situation  con- 
vinced the  Commission  that  missions  had  a  still  higher 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  41 

and  more  subtle  contribution  to  make  to  the  Latin 
republics.  The  influence  of  spiritual  and  intellectual 
freedom  upon  the  character  of  individuals  and  nations 
is  a  patent  teaching  of  history.  Just  as  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  obedient  to  its  sense  of  mission,  has 
planted  its  institutions  and  exerted  its  influence  in  the 
midst  of  Protestant  communities  and  states,  so  the 
evangelical  Churches  feel  it  incumbent  upon  them  to 
supply  to  Latin  America,  in  so  far  as  its  republics  do 
not  possess  them,  the  foundations  of  intellectual  free- 
dom, the  open  Bible  to  be  possessed,  studied  and 
practiced  by  all,  and  the  recognition  of  the  right  and 
value  of  democracy  in  ecclesiastical  government. 

As  the  Panama  Congress  faced  these  responsibili- 
ties and  opportunities,  it  was  heartening  to  be  re- 
minded that  the  far-flung  line  of  fraternity  and  co- 
operation was  in  the  main  wisely  located.  The  major 
bases  for  present  and  more  extended  operations  are 
so  chosen  as  to  make  them,  like  St.  Paul's  strategic 
entrepots,  natural  and  effective  centers  of  out-reach- 
ing lines  of  diffusion  to  unoccupied  hinterlands.  Al- 
most unequaled  waterways  and  sixty-five  thousand 
miles  of  railway,  connecting  most  of  the  mission 
stations  with  each  other  and  the  ports,  are  available 
for  the  gospel  messengers.  While  nearly  four-fifths 
of  Latin  America  lies  within  the  tropics,  elevated  areas 
supply  a  temperate  climate,  and  cities  of  the  lowlands 
are  becoming  increasingly  sanitary.  Excepting  the  In- 
dian tongues,  the  two  Iberian  languages,  so  nearly  akin 
that  Spaniard  can  readily  understand  Portuguese  and 


42  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

vice  versa,  are  the  linguae  Francae  of  Latin  mission 
fields, — a  fact,  with  their  relatively  easy  acquisition, 
that  is  at  once  a  help  to  the  faithful  student  of  these 
languages  and  a  peril  to  the  indolent  missionary  who 
forgets  how  the  evangelical  message  is  crippled  and 
disparaged  because  of  his  slipshod  use  of  the  beautiful 
mother  tongues  of  the  Latin  peoples. 

Over  against  these  favoring  factors  were  certain 
opposing  elements,  chief  among  them  racial  relations. 
German  assurance,  English  bluffness,  American  angu- 
larity and  other  barbarisms,  are  little  calculated  to  win 
the  polite  and  sensitive  Latin — an  argument  for  the 
repression  of  characteristics  that  wound  or  offend. 
The  easy  weapon  of  ridicule  and  the  keen  edge  of 
criticism  need  to  be  sheathed,  or  used  with  the  utmost 
tact  and  care.  The  inbred  prejudice  of  Latins  toward 
races  whose  ancestors  were  known  only  as  the  enemies 
of  true  religion,  an  inheritance  from  history,  is  present 
in  many  minds.  The  Latin-American  fear  lest  their 
civilization  should  be  overwhelmed  through  political 
and  commercial  aggression  is  a  middle  wall  of  parti- 
tion between  them  and  the  rest  of  the  Occidental 
world.  Their  writers  linger  over  the  North  American 
peril,  the  threat  of  Germany,  the  menace  of  Japan; 
while  the  Monroe  Doctrine  is  a  shield  whose  dark 
side  faces  southward,  the  fear  of  which  is  hardly 
banished  by  the  northern  Christian's  assurance,  "Our 
call  is  to  evangelize,  not  to  Americanize."  If  that 
assertion  is  made  w4th  any  suggestion  of  race  supe- 
riority, their  special  abomination,  the  words  are  re- 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  43^ 

sented.  And  then  what  if  all  this  show  of  friendliness- 
were  merely  the  preparative  for  northern  aggression, 
another  case  of  Porto  Rican  occupation,  of  Cuban 
overlordship,  of  Canal  Zone  acquisition? 

Religious  liberty,  constitutionally  granted  but  often 
found  only  on  the  statute  books,  is  a  help  where 
dominant,  a  hollow  mockery  in  too  many  instances- 
Religious  prejudices,  almost  universally  present  and 
ranging  from  indifferent  tolerance  to  virulent  opposi- 
tion, are  slowly  yielding  before  increasing  knowledge 
and  the  power  of  the  evangelical  program,  so  that  re- 
ligious openness  is  reported  from  most  republics. 
Now  is  the  pragmatic  moment  for  the  evangelical 
Churches  to  objectify  themselves  in  evangelistic  en- 
deavor, in  literary  production,  in  educational  work 
of  intellectual  and  religious  strength,  in  the  extension 
of  that  welcome  hand  which  has  thus  far  been  so 
grudgingly  stretched  forth  in  healing,  and  in  a  host 
of  philanthropic  activities  so  acceptable  that  it  was 
hoped  that  the  Congress  might  find  some  point  of 
cooperation  with  the  Roman  Church  in  their  prosecu- 
tion. Such  a  prospect  was  obscured  somewhat  by  the- 
lack  of  national  leadership  adequately  prepared  for 
leading  on  to  a  bloodless  victory  the  evangelical 
forces, — a  defect  to  be  emphasized  later  in  this 
volume. 

The  last  section  of  the  report  preceding  its  findings 
was  devoted  to  the  statistics  gathered  by  the  Com-^ 
mission.  Without  presenting  lifeless  figures,  which 
will  be  found  in  an  appendix  of  the  three- volume  re* 


44  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

port,  a  few  statements  may  be  made,  mainly  by  way  of 
comment. 

The  magnitude  of  the  unfinished  task  was  vividly 
impressed  by  the  data  presented.  The  Indian-speak- 
ing aborigines,  numbering  some  six  millions,  were  a 
challenge  to  Christian  heroism  and  faith, — a  part  of 
the  work  almost  wholly  neglected.  Bolivia  in  its 
province  of  La  Paz  alone  has  more  Indians  than  all 
of  the  United  States,  with  nothing  but  the  Gospel  of 
St.  Luke  in  print  to  guide  them.  The  missionary  there 
must  first  learn  Spanish  and  through  that  medium  the 
Aymara  in  order  to  communicate  with  his  needy 
charges.  With  the  exception  of  those  in  the  Para- 
guayan Chaco,  no  prominent  work  is  being  done  for 
the  red  man  from  Allen  Gardiner's  burial  place  in 
the  remotest  south  to  the  Indians  of  the  Texas  border- 
lands, though  isolated  stations  exist  and  heroic  work  is 
being  done.  Statistics  of  literature  suitable  for  Latin- 
American  missions  do  not  appear,  and  even  in  the 
Commission's  report  dealing  with  that  subject,  they 
are  meager ;  so  that  it  is  probably  true  that  this  is  the 
greatest  weakness  of  the  evangelical  propaganda. 
Happily  the  Bible  Societies  are  active  and  on  that 
side  the  defect  is  not  so  noticeable.  A  task  unbegun 
rather  than  unfinished,  one  might  almost  say,  is 
that  for  the  higher  government  student  class,  where 
figures  are  also  lacking,  though  this  is  a  most  stra- 
tegic section  of  the  Latin  community.  Zero  is  the 
numeral  representing  the  number  of  church  edifices 
in  Colombia,  the  fifth  republic  in  size  of  South  Amer- 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  4S 

ica,  though  school  buildings  are  so  used.  Ecuador 
has  one  church  building  and  Venezuela  two.  In 
Jamaica  and  Porto  Rico,  which  are  really  home  mis- 
sion fields,  the  number  of  evangelical  church  mem- 
bers is  gratifying.  The  former  island  has  sent  eleven 
workers  to  its  mission  in  Africa.  The  average  con- 
tribution of  the  1,325  Canadian  Presbyterian  com- 
municants for  church  purposes  in  Trinidad  was  $4.86 
in  19 1 3.  But  let  the  totals,  rather  than  isolated  facts, 
convince  the  reader  that  Latin  America  is  still  in  the 
large  a  neglected  part  of  the  world-field,— with  one 
evangelical  missionary  to  forty  thousand  and  one 
communicant  of  its  evangelical  churches  to  three  hun- 
dred and  eleven  Romanists  or  totally  unreached  Latin 
Americans.  Such  statements,  however,  are  feeble  in- 
deed compared  with  the  impressions  made  that  Friday 
morning  as  missionary  after  missionary  told  of  spirit- 
ual destitution  everywhere,  and  of  the  millions  wholly 
unreached  thus  far  by  Christianity  in  any  form.  If 
one  were  to  use  any  figure  to  suggest  the  dearth  of 
missionaries,  perhaps  a  truer  impression  would  be 
given,  if  it  were  stated  that  in  the  South  America  of 
greatest  destitution,  there  is  one  missionary  to  half 
a  million  people. 

When  the  material  of  the  Commission  was  placed 
before  the  Congress,  the  reactions  were  varied  and 
insistent.  North  American,  British,  German  and 
Latin  speakers  sounded  out  imperative  calls  from  a 
score  of  New  World  Macedonias  north  and  south  of 
the  equator.     Mexico's  fourfold  need,  as  voiced  by 


46  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Senor  Garza  Mora,  was  re-echoed  once  and  again 
throughout  the  day  by  nationals  and  missionaries 
aHke.  Fundamentally  an  open  Bible,  faithfully 
preached  and  holily  illustrated,  and  then  this  quartette 
of  needs  in  the  evangelical  propaganda:  The  raising 
up  of  a  well  educated  national  ministry  out  of  the 
poorly  taught  and  meagerly  financed  evangelical 
churches;  many  more  schools  and  higher  institutions 
for  the  training  of  children  and  youth  under  the 
beneficent  influences  of  a  glad  and  brotherly  gospel; 
the  driving  out  of  some  of  the  feeble  or  fiercely  mili- 
tant literature  of  the  churches  by  better  leaflets  and 
books  and  by  a  vastly  larger  volume  of  them;  and  a 
more  manifest,  more  efficient  cooperation  and  unity 
among  the  evangelical  agencies.  In  sections  where 
Missions  have  accomplished  more  than  in  others,  the 
undertone  of  deeper  want  was  heard — in  this  utter- 
ance of  Senor  Elphick  of  Chile,  for  example:  "The 
great  need,  not  only  of  Chile,  but  of  all  the  countries 
nowadays,  is  a  tremendous  revival.  .  .  .  There- 
fore I  would  urge  this  Congress  to  send  people 
equally  to  all  Latin  America,  so  that  all  the  churches 
may  fall  upon  their  knees  and  pray  God  to  send  the 
Holy  Spirit  into  our  hearts.  We  have  splendid  ma- 
chinery, but  we  have  no  power  for  that  machinery." 
Bishop  Stuntz  closed  his  seven-minute  burst  of  im- 
passioned oratory  with  the  same  refrain :  "We  need 
[in  the  Plate  region]  just  what  we  need  in  all  of  these 
countries, — we  need  the  power  of  God  resting  upon 
those  at  work  there." 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  47 

The  absence  of  diatribes  against  a  Church  which 
is  not  only  opposed  to  evangelical  workers,  but  which 
history  has  shown  to  be  inadequate  to  enlighten  the 
Latin  world,  was  noticeable;  though  it  was  not  sur- 
prising that  an  occasional  outcry  was  heard.  Thus 
Senor  Alvaro  Reis,  a  distinguished  leader  of  Brazil, 
where  not  less  than  eighty  persecutions  directed  against 
the  modern  spiritual  movement  are  on  record,  appealed 
to  the  Congress  to  define  its  attitude  and  purpose  in 
facing  the  existing  Roman  Church  throughout  South 
America.  Another  sort  of  semi-discordant,  yet  wholly 
human,  note  was  the  discouraged  plea  of  a  canny  Scot, 
John  Ritchie,  for  Peru, — as  large  as  France,  Belgium, 
Spain,  Switzerland  and  Italy  combined.  As  he  looked 
to  Porto  Rico,  smaller  than  little  Connecticut,  where 
there  are  more  than  three  hundred  preaching  places, 
and  then  thought  of  Peru  with  only  thirty-three  for- 
eign workers  all  told,  so  that  twelve  departments 
averaging  the  size  of  Holland  are  without  a  single 
evangelical  witness,  native  or  foreign,  the  question 
of  investigating  the  disparity  in  distribution  of  mis- 
sionaries seemed  a  proper  one.  Yet  his  plaint  was 
prefaced  by  a  note  of  thanksgiving  that  after  twenty- 
five  years  of  suffering  and  patient  toil,  in  November, 
191 5,  the  day  of  the  open  door  to  preach  the  Gospel 
throughout  Peru  had  dawned. 

With  the  afternoon  session  came  a  presentation  of 
special  sections  and  classes  in  Latin  lands  of  the  New 
World.  The  Rev.  James  H.  McLean  was  the  spokes- 
man of  45,000  students  in  higher  institutions  of  learn- 


48  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

ing,  less  than  one  percent,  of  Latin  Americans  proper, 
who  nevertheless  exercise  ninety-nine  percent,  of  the 
intellectual  and  moral  influence.  If  nothing  effective 
is  done  for  these  men  and  women  by  missionaries, 
forty-five  percent,  will  be  sworn  enemies  of  vital  re- 
ligion in  a  decade,  while  the  remainder  will  be  utterly 
negative  in  religious  matters.  How  hopeless  the  best 
of  them  may  become  was  evidenced  by  a  student  who 
told  the  speaker  of  his  praying  to  a  being,  supposed 
to  be  God,  in  these  words,  "Speak  to  me,  if  Thou 
exist,  for  the  silence  is  crushing  my  soul."  The  Con- 
gress president.  Professor  Monteverde,  followed  the 
presentation  with  a  statement  as  to  work  already  being 
done  for  this  strategic  class. 

Dr.  Tucker  gave  a  genuine  *'big  Injun"  address,  as 
he  pleaded  for  making  the  red  man  large  in  our  re- 
spect and  aims  for  future  work.  In  the  southern 
half  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  is  the  place  in  which 
to  accomplish  this  desired  result.  What  Mr.  Grubb 
and  others  are  already  doing  is  prophetic  of  still  larger 
successes.  The  Brazilian  hinterland  was  especially 
spoken  of  as  the  field  for  future  expansion  of  the  In- 
dian work,  the  hopefulness  of  which  Dr.  Conto  de 
Magalhaes  had  set  forth.  New  York's  missionary 
layman,  Mr.  Eben  E.  Olcott,  told  us  chapters  out  of  his 
Peruvian  experience  and  of  what  practical  Chris- 
tianity can  do  for  a  race  that  is  maltreated  and  neg- 
lected. One  valley  which  he  traveled  through  was 
populated  by  only  seventy  thousand,  the  remnant  of  a 
million  Indians  who  succumbed  before  the  hardships 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  49 

imposed  upon  them  by  the  ruthless  Spaniards  of  cen- 
turies ago. 

Dr.  S.  D.  Daugherty  spoke  of  the  invasion  of  Latin 
America  by  men  from  Protestant  lands,  and  especially 
those  who  go  from  the  United  States  to  establish 
banks  and  to  engage  in  other  business.  The  duty  of 
the  evangelical  Church  to  these  men  is  obvious.  Chris- 
tian firms  should  send  out  only  Christian  gentlemen 
who  will  elevate  the  tone  of  society  and  help  for- 
ward all  forms  of  true  religion. 

Certain  questions  raised  by  Commission  I  were  next 
discussed.  Secretary  Earl  Taylor  began  with  the  vital 
alternative  as  to  whether  the  Church  should  address 
itself  to  the  unoccupied  fields,  or  enlarge  the  work 
already  in  progress.  While  he  believed  that  a  group 
of  Christian  business  men  would  vote  in  favor  of 
concentration  rather  than  for  a  dispersion  of  forces,  he 
inclined  to  answer  both  "Yes"  and  "No."  While  we 
ought  not  to  concentrate  to  the  exclusion  of  outlying 
areas,  on  the  other  hand  diffusion  ought  not  to  be  at 
the  expense  of  strong  centers.  To  solve  the  problem 
he  pleaded  for  a  "hemispherical"  policy  that  by  its 
synergism  might  lift  up  the  entire  Latin- American 
world  toward  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  A  conti- 
nental program  will  enable  the  evangelical  Church  to 
meet  both  phases  of  the  problem. 

A  lack  of  coordination  and  cooperation  among 
missions  seemed  to  the  Rev.  Eduardo  Pereira  of  Brazil 
to  make  them  appear  as  so  many  army  corps  in  dis- 
order, having  no  connection  nor  direction,  each  going 


50  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

its  own  way.  So  inefficient  a  plan  can  no  longer  con- 
tinue; missionaries  and  nationals  alike  desire  coopera- 
tion and  a  definite  program.  Secretary  J.  E.  McAfee 
dwelt  especially  upon  the  divided  ranks  of  Protes- 
tantism due  to  its  denominationalism  which  he  felt 
should  not  be  propagated  in  Latin  America;  and  he 
suggested  a  number  of  correctives,  chief  among  them 
the  training  in  union  institutions  of  the  Church's 
future  leaders. 

The  Rev.  George  H.  Brewer  answered  the  question, 
"What  is  meant  by  an  adequate  occupation  of  the 
field?"  by  affirming  that  it  implied  efficient  leadership, 
first-class  equipment,  adequate  and  sympathetic  home 
support  and  the  concentration  of  force  at  strategic  cen- 
ters. An  effective  unit  of  occupation  for  a  given  area 
he  described  as  the  establishment  of  an  organized 
church  with  its  building,  its  church  home,  and  an 
ordained  ministry  devoting  full  time  to  church  work. 

Professor  Beach  presented,  in  reply  to  the  question, 
**Is  it  desirable  to  make  a  scientific  or  thorough  sur- 
vey of  the  field  at  the  present  time?  If  so,  what  is 
the  most  practical  plan  to  accomplish  this?"  a  series 
of  propositions  showing  that  now  was  the  time  of 
times  to  undertake  this  survey  and  suggesting  a  prac- 
ticable scheme  for  such  an  undertaking — a  plan  which 
was  later  placed  in  charge  of  delegates  to  the  various 
regional  conferences  to  be  acted  upon  so  far  as  pos- 
sible. 

The  Rev.  E.  M.  Sein  broke  the  monotony  of  answers 
by  a  citation  of  conditions  favorable  to  the  evangelical 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  51 

missions  in  Latin  America,  and  to  immediate  forward 
movements.  Religious  liberty  is  finally  universally 
proclaimed;  barriers  are  being  broken  down  and  men 
are  passing  out  from  the  domination  of  a  state  Church ; 
more  books  and  helpful  literature — albeit  so  inade- 
quate— and  more  readers  favor  progress;  improved 
intercommunication  aids  the  cause  of  Missions;  in- 
creasing harmony  and  mutual  helpfulness  inspirit  and 
enable  the  movement  to  do  more  with  the  same  forces 
than  formerly;  the  sympathy  of  governments  and  of 
men  of  influence  with  evangelical  education  is  a  valu- 
able asset;  and  there  is  a  very  considerable  Christian 
force  consecrated  and  willing  for  the  work  of  an  ag- 
gressive evangelistic  movement. 

Three  great  assets  with  which  we  go  forth  to  the 
task  of  the  evangelical  Churches  laboring  in  Latin 
America  were  discussed  as  the  closing  word  upon  this 
Commission's  report.  Dr.  Speer  was  the  speaker  and 
these  were  his  points  in  briefest  outline :  We  are  deal- 
ing first  of  all  with  hopeful  nations,  with  peoples  of 
great  national  aspirations.  Yet  this  advantage  brings 
with  it  grave  problems  demanding  commensurate  wis- 
dom. Even  more  helpful  is  the  second  asset  of  in- 
tellectual assumption  and  of  religious  conceptions 
wholly  wanting  or  held  in  weakest  solution  in  Asiatic 
and  African  mission  fields,  but  present  in  all  these 
republics,  except  among  the  most  primitive  tribes. 
One  of  the  greatest  hindrances  to  Latin-American  mis- 
sionaries was  mentioned  as  the  third  .asset,  the  skep- 
ticism of  these  lands.    This  attitude  of  doubt  and  re- 


52  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

ligious  questioning  is  so  prevalent  in  all  Occidental 
institutions  of  higher  learning  that  the  missionaries 
are  already  familiar  with  the  philosophical  and  re- 
ligious problems  which  must  be  met  on  the  Latin- 
American  fields. 

Closely  akin  to  these  assets  are  three  needs 
which  are  especially  pressing.  The  vast  Indian 
problem  calls  for  many  things,  but  especially  for 
heroic  and  undiscourageable  devotion  to  a  sparsely 
scattered  remnant  whose  degradation  and  seeming 
hopelessness  are  repelling.  The  important  student 
class  and  the  great  numbers  of  foreigners  suggest 
other  needs.  A  million  Italians  in  Argentina,  "who 
constitute  one  of  the  greatest  blocks  of  masked  atheism 
that  can  be  found  anywhere  in  the  w^orld,"  and  neg- 
lected thousands  of  other  nationalities  throughout 
these  lands,  who  are  a  leaven  of  evil  rather  than  of 
good,  make  manifest  the  clamant  need  of  character- 
producing  power  in  these  countries — the  need  which 
the  crucified  Christ  alone,  the  Christ  who  rose  again, 
can  supply.  The  third  need  is  that  our  international 
relationships  in  this  Western  Hemisphere  should  be 
increasingly  penetrated  with  the  spirit  of  Christ.  Mr. 
Colton's  question  of  the  morning,  as  to  whether  free 
commerce  in  rationalism  was  reasonable,  while  there 
was  no  gift  of  the  Bible  and  its  spiritual  treasures  for 
these  nations,  was  a  most  important  reminder  of 
international  duty.  Nationalism  and  racial  ambitions 
should  be  subjected  to  the  common  fellowship  and  the 
community  of  interest  of  all  mankind. 


REDISCOVERING  LATIN  AMERICA  53 

Four  personal  duties  with  which  the  discussions  of 
the  day  were  impressing  the  Congress  were  mentioned 
in  Dr.  Speer's  final  paragraph.  Prayer  that  the  Lord 
of  the  Harvest  may  send  forth  enough  of  the  right  sort 
of  reapers  into  these  ripe  fields  was  a  manifest  duty; 
the  obligation  to  draw  near  to  one  another  and 
Church  to  Church  for  a  united  effort,  that  the  spirit 
of  Christ  may  come  down  to  make  Latin  evangelical 
churches  great  torches  for  the  illumination  of  the 
darkness,  is  equally  obvious;  a  third  duty  is  to  pene- 
trate with  the  very  mind  and  spirit  of  Christ  all  our 
thinking  about  what  we  do,  about  our  own  individual 
relationships,  about  the  great  body  of  those  outside 
the  Church — a  duty  the  importance  of  which  is  inten- 
sified when  one  recalls  the  dissensions,  want  of  unity 
and  divisive  problems  present  in  all  the  nations  rep- 
resented in  the  Congress ;  and  beyond  the  assets,  needs 
and  duties  of  this  Latin-American  field,  is  the  over- 
whelming sense  of  the  stupendousness  of  our  task, 
of  the  all-sufificiency  of  God,  of  the  power  of  faith 
when  men  open  themselves  to  Him;  so  that  He  is 
our  great,  our  personal,  our  present  duty. 

It  was  most  fitting  that  at  the  midday  devotions 
Bishop  Lloyd  should  have  focussed  the  thought  of  the 
delegates  upon  St.  John's  reassuring  words,  "In  him 
was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men:" — light 
so  much  needed  the  world  over,  and  Latin  America 
more  needy  in  many  primitive  sections  and  races  than 
many  other  lands;  life  that  is  illumined  by  the  Star  of 
Bethlehem  and  by  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  brighten- 


54  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

ing  millions  of  groping,  darkened  lives.  Yet  both 
light  and  life  are  obscured  by  clouds  of  brotherly  mis- 
understanding and  divided  counsels.  Hence,  perhaps, 
these  words  in  the  Bishop's  prayer:  "Make  it  im- 
possible for  us  to  be  separated.  Compel  all  Thy  peo- 
ple to  be  one,  that  men  may  see  the  light  that  lightens 
men,  that  liberty  may  come  through  the  knowledge 
of  truth,  that  men  may  have  their  life  in  abundance, 
that  our  Master  may  have  His  will.'' 

As  a  backward  look  over  the  day's  deliberations. 
Professor  Braga's  closing  prayer  was  also  very  ap- 
propriate. "Heavenly  Father,  we  thank  Thee  for  the 
word  of  the  Spirit  and  for  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ. 
We  confess  that  we  have  not  done  our  duty  in  the 
measure  of  the  opportunity  opened  to  us  by  Thy  loving 
providence.  We  beseech  Thee,  O  divine  fountain  of 
grace  and  power,  to  give  us  renewed  strength  and 
uncompromising  devotion  to  our  Lord's  service.  In 
the  name  of  our  Redeemer,  the  Son  of  the  Living 
God,  Christ  Jesus.    Amen." 


Ill 

INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD 

Commission  II,  on  "Message  and  Method,"  whose 
members  had  been  entrusted  with  the  deHcate  and  im- 
portant task  of  drawing  up  a  brief  statement  of  those 
aspects  of  the  Christian  message  which  would  seem  to 
require  special  emphasis  at  the  present  time  in  Latin 
America,  and  to  suggest  methods  of  presenting  and 
interpreting  the  message  and  of  most  helpfully  apply- 
ing its  truths  in  practical  ways  to  actual  conditions  in 
the  countries  concerned,  was  perhaps  the  one  that 
awakened  the  most  solicitude  and  that  elicited  the 
greatest  volume  of  prayer,  both  before  the  Congress 
and  during  its  presentation.  Yet  as  the  delegates  met 
that  Saturday  morning  and  looked  out  eastward  to- 
ward the  peaceful  Pacific,  its  shimmering  surface 
seemed  to  reflect  God's  calm,  while  its  high-rising 
tide  was  a  symbol  of  the  heights  to  be  reached  on  that 
day  which  many  had  anticipated  with  trepidation.  The 
very  palm  fronds  with  which  the  place  of  meeting 
was  decorated,  as  they  swayed  and  rustled  in  the 
breeze,  w^ere  assuringly  prophetic  of  the  victory  of 
that  memorable  afternoon. 

More,  even,  than  the  report  of  Commission  VIII  on 
"Cooperation  and  the  Promotion  of  Unity"  did  this 

55 


S6  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

one  arouse  pre-Congress  discussion  among  those  who 
doubted  the  wisdom  of  carrying  missionary  activity 
into  Roman  CathoHc  lands.  Among  evangehcal  mis- 
sionaries themselves  were  varying  degrees  of  tolerance 
or  bitterness  toward  that  Church  which  dominates 
Latin-American  Christianity.  Men  and  women,  who 
as  Latins  had  grown  up  under  its  shadow  and  who 
had  found  it  a  vine  of  hunger  and  thirst,  or  who  had 
felt  the  wounding  force  of  its  scourging  branches, — 
one  delegate  bore  on  his  body  the  marks  of  the  evan- 
gelical confessor, — were  apprehensive  lest  the  irenicon 
of  the  Commission  should  conceal  facts  which  to  them 
seemed  the  sole  reason  for  their  present  faith,  ac- 
cepted because  of  the  character  and  fruitage  of  the 
Church  which  they  had  felt  compelled  to  flee  in  order 
to  save  themselves  and  reach  the  gospel  norm.  Polemics 
seemed  to  a  few  ardent  Latins  to  be  justified  by  Jesus* 
attitude  seen  in  the  twenty-third  chapter  of  St.  Mat- 
thew, and  as  demanded  rather  than  irenics. 

The  Commission  prefaced  its  report  with  an  illu- 
minating interpretation  of  Latin- American  history, 
especially  on  its  religious  side,  and  of  present-day 
conditions, — an  amplification  of  certain  facts  presented 
by  Commission  L  Iberian  blood,  mingled  as  it  was 
with  Indian  and  negro  strains,  never  succeeded  in 
changing  the  primitive  element  into  either  Spanish  or 
Portuguese;  so  that  Senor  Calderon  goes  so  far  as 
to  class  Mexico,  Peru,  Paraguay  and  Bolivia  as  In- 
dian nations,  while  he  speaks  of  the  general  popula- 
tion as  a  *'babel  of  races,  so  mixed  that  it  is  im- 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD  57 

possible  to  discover  the  definite  outlines  of  the  future 
type."  Of  course  in  Brazil  it  is  the  negro  rather 
than  the  Indian  who  is  similarly  in  evidence.  Unfor- 
tunately in  this  racial  admixture,  the  Iberians  who 
first  gave  direction  to  this  blood  fusion  were,  for  the 
most  part,  adventurers,  freebooters,  soldiers, — unprin- 
cipled, lawless,  contemptuous  of  moral  restraint,  de- 
sirous of  gold  only, — who  largely  composed  the 
colonial  armies  of  Spain  and  Portugal.  It  was  only 
when  the  Conquest  was  well  advanced  and  the  founda- 
tions laid  that  the  stream  of  higher  Castilian  culture 
came  in  sufficient  volume  to  offset  incipient  moral 
chaos,  though  too  late  to  prevent  an  inheritance  that 
hung  like  a  deadweight  upon  the  New  World  of  the 
Latins.  The  Commission  truly  pointed  out  that  "the 
national  complexity  of  the  Latin  Americans,  explained 
by  their  historic  origins  and  heritage,  is  reflected  in 
moral  standards  and  ideals  which  are  quite  different 
from  those  of  Europe,  as  well  as  of  most  of  North 
America.  Account  must  be  taken  of  this  in  all  at- 
tempts at  religious  approach.  We  have  here  a  num- 
ber of  racial  constituents,  each  bearing  its  own  tradi- 
tion and  all  combining  to  produce  a  highly  composite 
and  subtle  character,  whose  mental  quality  must  be 
carefully  analyzed  and  whose  motives  must  be 
thoroughly  grasped,  if  the  Gospel  is  to  be  brought  in- 
telligently to  bear  upon  their  peculiar  needs."  Special 
attention  was  called  to  the  potent  influence  exercised 
upon  the  new  democracies  by  France,  of  whose  contri- 
butions South-American  writers  make  the  most  glow- 


S8  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

ing  acknowledgment.  No  greater  problem  confronts 
the  missionary  enterprise  in  these  lands,  in  so  far  as 
its  agents  are  Anglo-Saxons,  than  that  of  sympathetic 
penetration  into  the  Latin-American  spirit. 

The  inheritance  of  this  composite  race  from  prim- 
itive Indian  faiths  is  not  what  the  promise  of  elaborate 
polytheisms  of  the  Incas  of  Peru  and  of  the  Aztecs  of 
Central  America  and  Mexico  would  suggest.  The 
policy  of  the  Spanish  conquerors  of  crushing  out  the 
civilization  of  a  conquered  foe,  rather  than  of  absorb- 
ing its  useful  features,  caused  to  fall  into  ruins  even 
the  ethicized  and  spiritualized  sun-worship  of  the  Incas 
and  the  pure  monotheism  centered  in  Pachacamac,  the 
Peruvian  creator  of  the  universe.  While  these  higher 
aspects  of  native  religion  were  crushed  out,  the  more 
vulgar  superstitions  and  practices  of  heathenism  sur- 
vived and  are  perpetuated  to-day  among  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  seventeen  millions  of  Indians  scattered 
from  Mexico  to  Cape  Horn.  Thus  at  Guadalupe, 
Mexico's  holy  shrine,  and  at  Copacabana  on  Lake  Titi- 
caca,  Indians  still  dance  before  the  church  and  perform 
other  rites  of  their  pre-Christian  ancestors.  And  so  it 
happens  that  the  blind  gropings,  superstitious  fears  and 
crude  ritual  of  primitive  cults  have  become  mixed 
with  the  prevailing  religion  of  to-day  and  leave  five 
millions  of  Indians  almost  as  pagan  as  if  the  New 
World  had  never  been  discovered. 

To  understand  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  Latin 
America,  four  facts  must  be  borne  in  mind;  and  first 
the  manner  of  its  introduction.     Catholicism  entered 


INDUSTRIAL  MISSION 
STREET  PREACHING 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD  59' 

the  New  World  under  the  aegis  and  control  of  the 
Spanish  Crown  rather  than  with  the  initiative  and 
under  the  direction  of  the  Pope.  It  was  thus  bound  up 
with  the  romance  of  discovery,  the  lust  of  wealth  and 
the  carnage  and  subjugation  of  resisting  peoples.  The 
Roman  pontiff,  according  to  Bernard  Moses,  **could 
do  nothing  by  himself  in  this  immense  territory;  he 
had  not  the  means  of  establishing  in  it  the  institutions 
necessary  for  the  propagation  of  religion."  The  au- 
thority given  by  Pope  Alexander  VI  to  the  sover- 
eigns of  Castile  and  Leon  over  the  Latin  section  of 
America  was  enlarged  by  the  bull  of  Julius  II,  so  that 
the  establishment  of  churches,  monasteries,  or  other 
religious  institutions,  as  well  as  all  ecclesiastical  ap- 
pointments, present  or  future,  should  be  subject  to  the 
consent  of  the  king.  The  Spanish  government  was 
thus  a  missionary  society;  the  king  was  its  invested 
head  with  veto  power ;  and  the  various  Orders  and  the 
secular  clergy  were  under  civil  regulations  greatly 
hampering  them. 

Yet  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  a  genuine  missionary 
interest  lay  behind  these  ambitious — often  selfish — 
schemes  of  conquest.  Columbus  named  his  landfall 
Holy  Savior— San  Salvador;  the  Portuguese  first 
called  Brazil  Santa  Cruz— Holy  Cross;  Cortes  was 
commanded  to  Christianize  the  Mexicans,  and  on  his 
standard  was  emblazoned  a  red  cross  with  the  legend, 
'Triends,  let  us  follow  the  cross,  and  under  this  sign, 
if  we  have  faith,  we  shall  conquer;"  from  the  time  of 
his  and  Pizarro's  first  expedition  monks  or  priests. 


6o  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

were  required  to  sail  in  every  Spanish  ship  bound  for 
discovery  or  for  war.  Nevertheless  recent  Latin- 
American  scholarship  reflects  the  revulsion  against 
Christianity  and  the  Roman  Church  because  of  the 
unworthy  methods  of  the  early  propaganda. 

A  second  fact  to  be  considered  in  Latin  America's 
Church  is  its  missionary  leadership  as  seen  in  history 
and  to-day.  Three  orders,  the  Dominicans,  the  Fran- 
ciscans and  the  Jesuits,  led  among  the  others  in  this 
propaganda.  The  exactions  of  their  primitive  and 
barbaric  environment  bred  in  them  the  power  of  initi- 
ative, an  aggressive  resourcefulness,  which,  inspired 
by  religious  fervor,  not  only  rose  to  great  heroisms  of 
service,  but  did  not  shrink  from  conflict  with  secular 
interests.  In  the  sacrificial  ardor  and  versatile  labor 
with  which  they  set  themselves  to  win  pagan  peoples  to 
civilization  and  the  Church,  the  first  two  generations 
of  these  missionaries  have  never  been  surpassed. 
"There  was  no  tropical  wilderness  too  intricate  or  far- 
stretching  for  them  to  traverse,  no  water  too  wide  for 
them  to  cross,  no  rock  or  cave  too  dangerous  for  them 
to  climb  or  enter,  no  Indian  tribe  too  dull  or  refractory 
for  them  to  teach."  Preeminent  among  the  three 
orders  were  the  Jesuits.  They  were  powerful  in 
Mexico,  but  were  famous  for  their  labors  in  Brazil 
and  Paraguay.  Their  achievements  in  the  latter  coun- 
try, alluded  to  in  the  previous  chapter,  brought  one 
hundred  thousand  Indians  into  their  reductions  where 
they  were  taught  the  rudimentary  arts  of  civilization 
and  the  tenets  of  Catholicism.    What  manner  of  men 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD  6i 

these  orders  sent  to  Latin  America  may  be  under- 
stood from  the  biographies  of  missionaries  like  No- 
brega  of  Brazil,  Catadina  of  Paraguay,  Baraze  of 
Peru,  Pedro  Claver  of  Venezuela  and  Las  Casas,  "pro- 
tector of  the  Indians"  everywhere. 

Thirdly,  Roman  Catholicism's  spirit  and  method  are 
likewise  to  be  considered.  From  Ferdinand  to  Philip 
III,  a  militant,  ecclesiastical  autocracy  prevailed 
wherein  the  defence  and  extension  of  the  established 
Church  were  inseparably  related.  Ardent  evangelism, 
patient  instruction,  self-denying  labor,  humanitarian 
ministry  and  martyrdom  alternated  with  and  often 
accompanied  wholesale  slaughter  and  cruel  subjection 
of  the  natives,  spoliation  of  their  lands  and  a  criminal 
use  of  their  toil  and  wealth.  The  type  of  Christianity 
transplanted  to  the  New  World  was  necessarily  Spain's 
mediaeval  orthodoxy.  The  early  missionary  fervor 
was  soon  lost  in  the  tasks  of  organization  and  of  con- 
trolling religious  opinion.  Monasteries  were  built, 
universities  were  founded,  wealth  was  accumulated. 
The  Dominicans  set  up  the  Inquisition  in  Mexico, 
Cartagena  and  Lima  in  the  attempt  to  reduce  a  conti- 
nent to  intellectual  and  spiritual  conformity.  The 
apostolic  fires  had  burned  low  and  decadence  set  in. 

Missionary  methods  followed  the  ideals  of  that  age. 
Like  Charlemagne  and  Vladimir,  the  conquerors  often 
gave  the  Indians  the  option  of  war  or  submission  to 
the  Roman  faith.  When  the  former  was  the  alter- 
native chosen,  they  were  reduced  and  baptized.  In 
Mexico  there  were  wholesale  conversions.     Gomara 


62  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

estimates  the  number  baptized  during  Cortes'  conquest 
as  between  six  and  ten  millions,  and  adds :  "In  short, 
they  [the  Spaniards]  converted  as  many  as  they  con- 
quered." Coercive  conversion  was  against  the  protest 
of  Pope  Paul  III  who  declared  that  the  people  were 
to  be  ''called  to  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  by  preaching 
and  by  the  example  of  a  good  and  holy  life."  Las 
Casas  even  more  loftily  pleaded :  **The  means  for  es- 
tablishing the  Faith  in  the  Indies  should  be  the  same 
as  those  by  which  Christ  introduced  his  religion  into 
the  world — mild,  peaceable  and  charitable."  Jesuit 
methods  were  catechetical,  disciplinary  and  industrial, 
but  ultra-paternal.  In  the  Paraguayan  reductions, 
their  peaceful  villages  provided  the  Indians  with  pro- 
tection, instruction,  cooperative  labor  and  the  bless- 
ings of  a  Christian  leadership.  Unhappily  the  system 
did  not  secure  self-supporting  communities,  nor  did 
it  produce  a  native  agency  for  further  evangelization. 
With  the  withdrawal  of  the  missionaries,  they  fell 
away,  and  there  was  no  permanent  Christian  contri- 
bution made  to  the  moral  uplift  of  the  continent. 

The  fourth  item  to  be  considered  in  connection  with 
the  Latin-American  Church  is  its  present  status.  The 
establishment  of  republics  introduced  ideas  of  freedom 
and  progress  incompatible  with  a  ruling  ecclesiasticism. 
The  ultimate  result  is  that  at  last  all  Latin-American 
republics  recognize  the  right  of  religious  liberty  and 
of  toleration,  even  if  they  do  not  actually  secure  them. 
Roman  Catholicism  in  varying  degrees  preserves  the 
aspect  of  a  state  religion  and  professes  to  occupy  ade- 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD  63 

quately  all  of  Latin  America,  for  which  it  desires  to 
assume  sole  religious  responsibility,  resenting  and  op- 
posing the  proffered  help  of  evangelical  Churches. 

Scientific  candor  based  on  the  best  testimony  of 
Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant  sources  compels  the 
belief  that  the  Latin  Church  is  unable  to  do  for  these 
republics  what  their  inhabitants  need  to  see  accom- 
plished. Its  priests,  with  a  few  notable  exceptions, 
are  discredited  with  the  thinking  classes.  Its  moral  life 
is  weak  and  its  spiritual  witness  faint.  It  is  weighted 
with  mediaevalism  and  other  non-Christian  accretions. 
It  labors  under  "the  grave  misfortune" — to  use  Lord 
Bryce's  words — of  the  "absence  of  a  religious  founda- 
tion for  thought  and  conduct.*'  The  Commission 
summed  up  the  net  results  of  the  Roman  Catholic  prop- 
aganda in  the  words  of  Canon  Robinson,  an  Anglican 
historian  of  missions  who  would  probably  disapprove 
of  evangelical  work  in  Latin  America  except  for  the 
wholly  unevangelized.  "We  realize  and  we  thank  God 
for  the  good  work  which  the  Roman  Catholic  missions 
have  done  and  are  doing  in  many  parts  of  the  world ; 
but  our  appreciation  of  this  cannot  blind  our  eyes  to 
the  fact  that  in  Central  and  South  America  the  mis- 
sions of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  have  proved  an 
almost  complete  failure."  Of  South  America,  he  adds : 
"After  three  centuries  of  nominal  Christianity,  any 
conversion  of  its  peoples  which  will  involve  the  prac- 
tice of  the  elementary  teaching  of  Christianity  lies  still 
in  the  seemingly  distant  future." 

Evangelical  missions  were  barely  alluded  to  in  the 


64  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

report.  Beginning  with  the  French  Calvinistic  mission 
to  Brazil  of  1555-6,  which  failed  because  of  the  per- 
fidy of  Villegagnon,  continued  in  the  Dutch  attempt 
under  Johann  Moritz  of  1637-44,  permanently  estab- 
lished by  the  Moravians  in  St.  Thomas,  W.  I.,  in  1732 
and  in  what  is  now  British  Guiana  in  1735,  starved  out 
with  the  tragic  death  of  Captain  Allen  Gardiner  and 
his  six  brave  companions  in  1851  on  Tierra  del  Fuego, 
the  later  period  of  enduring  evangelical  work  in  the 
Latin  states  began  with  Dr.  Kalley's  mission,  estab- 
lished in  Brazil  in  1855.  Many  Societies  have  entered 
since  then  and  to-day  are  doing  an  excellent  work, 
though  amid  great  difficulties.  They  are  thus  a  help- 
ful part  of  Latin  America's  inheritance  from  the  recent 
past. 

Upon  such  an  historical  background  the  Latin  repub- 
lics of  our  day  must  be  viewed.  Their  citizens  have 
gradually  elaborated  an  exalted  theory  of  the  state,  of 
society,  of  government  and  a  democratic  idealism  rich 
in  visions  of  liberty,  brotherhood,  justice  and  peace. 
Yet  this  idealism  has  only  incipiently  realized  itself. 
It  has  ambitious  dreams  for  the  future,  embodied  in 
the  political  ideology  of  the  statesman,  the  enthusiasm 
of  sociologists,  the  fervid  eloquence  of  orators  and  in 
the  poetry  and  prose  of  the  indigenous  literature. 
Surely  this  strong,  developing,  eclectic  congeries  of 
important  republics  has  the  right  to  the  best  that  the 
world's  experience  has  to  give,  particularly  in  the 
realm  of  education  and  religion. 

As  for  the  bearer  of  the  evangelistic  message,  it  is 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD  65 

obvious  at  the  outset  that  the  preacher  of  Christ  in 
Latin  America  must  cherish  in  his  own  heart  and  mind 
and  must  convey  to  his  hearers  the  masterful  con- 
sciousness that  he  is  declaring  the  true  revelation  of 
God  which  is  older  than  Romanism  and  which  from 
apostolic  days  has  constituted  the  true  substance  of 
the  saving  gospel  of  divine  grace.  Controversy,  when 
necessary  because  of  attacks  which  are  likely  to  occa- 
sion misunderstanding  if  unmet,  or  because  it  is  some- 
times essential  to  clear  the  ground  for  the  constructive 
presentation  of  a  positive  message,  should  never  go 
beyond  the  point  of  ''speaking  the  truth  in  love." 

The  evangelical  messenger  in  carrying  out  this  pro- 
gram not  only  takes  his  text,  but  expounds  his  whole 
message,  from  and  by  the  authority  of  the  Bible.  He 
should  so  present  it  that  it  will  appear  to  be  the  most 
catholic  of  books,  and  not  merely  an  evangelical  docu- 
ment. Hearers  may  be  reminded  that  the  Roman 
Church  accepts  and  appeals  to  the  authority  of  this 
Book  as  the  Word  of  God.  Upon  this  point  the  de- 
crees of  the  Council  of  Trent,  the  teachings  of  great 
Roman  Catholic  theologians,  and  even  the  encyclical 
of  the  late  Pope  against  modernism,  are  unanimous. 
The  distinctive  position  of  the  evangelical  Church  is 
embodied  in  its  twofold  affirmation :  First,  that  as  the 
teaching  of  Christ  and  of  His  apostles  was  addressed 
to  the  poor  and  unlearned,  as  well  as  to  the  rich  and 
learned,  and  as  it  was  preserved  in  the  Bible,  this  Book 
can  be  used  by  all  classes  and  races  to  know  what  is 
essential   for  salvation  concerning  the  Triune  God, 


€6  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Second,  nothing  which  has  been  declared  by  Christ  and 
His  apostles  to  be  necessary  for  salvation  can  be  added 
to,  or  subtracted  from,  by  any  other  authority,  with- 
out serious  injury  to  the  soul  and  resulting  eternal 
loss.  An  essential  part  of  this  gospel  is  the  possibility 
of  awakening  a  soul  deadened  by  sin,  and  the  reality 
of  its  communion  with  God.  It  is  supremely  impor- 
tant that,  as  the  individual  at  the  last  must  answer  to 
God  personally,  so  he  should  at  all  times  have  direct 
dealings  with  Him,  without  any  priestly  mediation. 

In  lands  where  the  crucifix  is  so  prominent  a  symbol, 
the  message  of  a  living  Christ  needs  to  be  emphasized. 
His  atoning  sacrifice  was  made  once  for  all.  By  it 
He  became  the  only  Saviour  of  mankind,  making  the 
intervention  of  His  mother  and  of  the  saints  unneces- 
sary. As  the  risen  Christ,  He  is  the  exclusive  Head 
of  the  Church,  seeing  that  He  "liveth  evermore.''  No 
more  inspiring  message  can  be  given  the  men  of  Latin 
America  than  that  of  the  personal  leadership  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  greatest  and  the  humblest  are  impressed 
by  the  idea  of  a  privilege  so  unexpected  in  the  light  of 
their  former  training,  so  surpassing  in  its  essential 
wonder  and  power,  so  evidently  based  upon  New  Tes- 
tament teachings.  Experience  shows  that  direct  and 
controversial  public  attack  upon  the  worship  of  the 
Virgin,  when  thrust  into  the  foreground  of  the  work, 
awakens  only  fanatical  hatred  and  detestation  of  Prot- 
estantism. But  when  the  message  of  fellowship  with 
God  through  the  Redeemer,  and  of  the  promised  lead- 
ership of  Christ,  is  steadily  proclaimed,  Mariolatry 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD  67 

and  saint-worship  fall  away.  The  teachings  of  Jesus 
are  the  supreme  guide  of  human  life.  They  are  to 
be  applied  to  our  social  conditions,  to  our  industrial, 
political  and  ecclesiastical  problems. 

The  spiritual  life,  so  helpfully  ministered  unto  by 
Roman  Catholic  writers,  is  in  peril  in  many  of  the 
Latin-American  churches,  as  may  be  seen  if  one  cares 
to  attend  their  formal,  often  unintelligibly  mumbled 
services.  Penance  should  be  replaced  by  repentance; 
images  need  to  be  exchanged  for  Christlikeness  and  a 
sainthood  imprinted  on  the  heart;  the  confessional  is 
to  be  made  unnecessary  by  a  consistent,  daily  confes- 
sion of  Christ  in  the  holy  life;  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass 
must  be  subordinated  to  and  symbolical  of  the  daily 
cross-bearing  of  all  who  joyously  follow  the  footsteps 
of  the  world's  Burden-bearer. 

The  Church  and  its  fellowship  should  be  made  allur- 
ingly attractive  to  those  who  must  suffer  much  in 
leaving  the  Church  of  their  childhood,  followed  by  its 
virulent  anathemas.  The  evangelical  messenger  should 
explain  fully  the  underlying  unity  of  the  various  Prot- 
estant denominations,  if  he  would  win  Latins  who 
love  uniformity  and  dislike  ecclesiastical  variety.  He 
should  make  it  equally  clear  that  he  does  not  come  to 
bring  an  exotic  organization,  but  rather  desires  to  aid 
in  establishing  a  truly  indigenous,  apostolic  Church, 
whose  atmosphere  shall  be  socially  and  spiritually 
helpful.  Even  the  church  building  should  be  suffi- 
ciently ecclesiastical  to  satisfy  the  tastes  of  those  who 
shrink  from  the  plain,  Puritan  boxes,  unadorned  in 


68  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

any  satisfying  way,  of  some  missions.  Some  plan 
should  be  devised  to  supply  forms  of  worship  accepta- 
ble to  persons  accustomed  to  the  order  and  beauty  of 
Roman  churches,  where  mystery  and  symbolism  is 
dominant.  Unprepared  services,  informal  pulpit  man- 
ners, familiar  or  irreverent  tones  in  prayer,  should 
be  as  studiously  avoided  as  offhand  sermons  delivered 
in  half -intelligible  Spanish  or  Portuguese. 

The  Commission  emphasized  the  social  gospel  in  its 
bearings  upon  the  evangelical  program.  This  is  de- 
manded by  the  industrial  revolution  resulting  from 
Latin  America's  development  of  its  virgin  resources 
and  from  the  incoming  of  the  factory  system.  Scores 
of  vital  problems  arising  therefrom  clamor  for  solution 
already.  These  changes  coming  en  masse,  and  not 
gradually  as  with  us,  are  liable  to  wreck  the  existing 
social  organization  of  Latin  America  and  to  alienate 
workingmen  from  the  Church.  Manifestly  a  preven- 
tive social  endeavor  is  demanded  here,  rather  than 
remedial  services.  Community  life  and  social  reforms 
should  first  be  studied,  then  discussed  in  a  lecture  room 
apart  from  the  church  or  chapel,  so  as  to  attract  men 
who  avoid  evangelical  meeting  places.  With  a  gospel 
basis,  these  addresses  will  make  public  sentiment. 

Two  actual  examples  of  a  wisely  coordinated  social 
work  under  evangelical  direction  were  instanced  by 
the  Commission.  One  was  the  People's  Central  Insti- 
tute of  the  Southern  Methodist  Mission  in  Rio  de  Ja- 
neiro, which  is  a  downtown,  institutional  forward 
movement  to  reach  the  masses  in  the  commercial  and 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD  69 

business  centers,  as  well  as  slum-dwellers  and  sea- 
faring classes.  It  is  organized  in  seven  departments — 
that  of  evangelization  and  religious  instruction,  the 
departments  of  elementary  and  practical  education,  of 
varied  physical  training,  of  charity  and  help,  of  recre- 
ation and  amusement,  of  employment,  and  one  for 
seamen. 

A  second  simpler  and  yet  more  effective  piece  of 
work  was  that  of  the  Christian  Woman's  Board  of 
Missions  at  Piedras  Negras,  Mexico.  This  People's 
Institute  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  small  reading-room, 
where  the  discussion  of  public  issues  called  forth  a 
series  of  public  conferences  on  civics  and  morals  at  the 
municipal  theater.  These  aroused  so  much  interest 
that  there  was  an  imperative  demand  for  an  expansion 
of  the  work  and  for  a  permanent  home  for  the  enter- 
prise. A  popular  subscription  provided  the  funds  for 
the  present  well-equipped  building,  intended  for  seek- 
ing points  of  contact  with  the  higher  classes  who  could 
not  be  persuaded  to  attend  religious  meetings.  Its 
dedication  was  an  official  act  of  the  government,  which 
often  holds  patriotic  meetings  in  its  auditorium.  Night 
classes  in  fifteen  different  subjects  are  conducted  for 
young  men  and  women,  with  as  many  as  one  hundred 
and  fifty  enrolled  at  one  time.  One  of  the  Institute's 
most  interesting  features  is  a  Sunday  morning  meet- 
ing, generally  attended  by  people  who  would  never 
appear  at  an  ordinary  evangelical  preaching  service. 
A  government  official,  or  some  prominent  citizen 
known  for  his  high  moral  character,  is  asked  to  open 


70  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

the  discussion  of  the  topic  chosen,  which  afterward 
is  thrown  open  to  all  present.  The  director  presides 
and  closes  with  his  own  presentation,  showing  the 
bearing  of  Christian  teaching  on  the  problem.  These 
meetings  and  others  of  a  debating  club  have  often 
awakened  interest  and  initiated  movements  for  com- 
munity betterment,  which  have  been  taken  over 
subsequently  by  the  government  or  other  organ- 
izations. These  two  Institutes  illustrate  disinterested 
love,  which  is  in  direct  contrast  with  the  dominant 
selfishness  of  trade  and  diplomacy  and  which  con- 
sequently attracts  and  often  wins  Latin  Americans. 
In  other  words,  missionaries  are  doing  what  Dr. 
Grenfell  thus  describes :  "When  you  set  out  to  com- 
mend your  gospel  to  men  who  don't  want  it,  there  is 
only  one  way  to  go  about  it — to  do  something  for  them 
that  they  will  understand.''  Social  service  is  pre- 
eminently such  a  magnet. 

Carrying  the  Christian  message  to  the  educated 
classes  is  both  strategic  and  highly  important.  For 
two  generations  Comte,  Herbert  Spencer  and  Jeremy 
Bentham  have  ruled  the  minds  of  educated  Latin 
Americans  with  their  doctrines  of  positivism,  mechan- 
istic evolution  and  utilitarianism.  Leaders  of  the 
Roman  Church  have  been  unable  to  stem  the  harmful 
tide.  To  these  intellectuals  the  evangelical  worker 
carries  the  same  message  of  fellowship  with  God 
through  Jesus  Christ,  and  after  their  entrance  upon  it, 
seeks  to  bring  them  to  an  open  confession  of  their 
faith  and  into  Christian   service.      But  just  here  a 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD     71 

serious  obstacle  is  confronted  in  the  fact  that  they 
shrink  from  open  connection  with  evangelical  com- 
munities composed  almost  wholly  of  the  poor  and 
uncultured,  with  no  strong  intellectual  leadership. 
Such  leadership  should  be  provided  through  special 
education  of  both  national  and  foreign  workers, 
hints  for  which  training  are  wisely  set  forth  in  the 
Commission's  report.  The  subjects  of  evolution,  re- 
ligion, historical  Christianity,  the  Bible,  the  Church, 
and  social  ethics,  are  those  demanding  emphasis.  The 
final  chapter  of  the  report  enters  into  the  preparation 
for  Christian  work  in  Latin  America  with  great  par- 
ticularity. 

With  this  body  of  important  facts  before  them,  the 
delegates  were  given  full  freedom  to  speak,  regardless 
of  whether  they  had  sent  in  cards  or  not,  and  without 
any  limitations  except  those  imposed  by  the  spirit  of 
Christ.  The  two  tendencies  among  them  were  well 
illustrated  by  Seiiorita  Cortes  of  the  Young  Women's 
Christian  Association  and  the  Rev.  F.  A.  Barroetavena 
of  Argentina.  The  latter  held  that  the  Roman  Catholi- 
cism of  North  and  of  Latin  America  were  so  differ- 
ent that  the  liberal  attitude  toward  the  system  would 
be  quickly  changed,  if  its  southern  type  were  under- 
stood. Here  the  Church  has  so  tyrannized  over  the 
inferior  peoples  that  many  hate  religion.  He  held  that 
as  a  general  rule  an  attitude  of  warfare  should  be 
adopted  toward  the  Roman  Church.  Sefiorita  Cortes, 
speaking  from  her  own  experience,  said  that  at  first 
she  was  approached  in  ways  that  antagonized  her. 


72  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

which  only  increased  her  loyalty  to  Rome.  Later  she 
began  to  examine  evangelical  views  by  herself,  saw 
contradictions  in  Romanism,  came  in  touch  with  mis- 
sionaries who  loved  and  prayed  for  her  and  thus  ar- 
rived at  a  glad  acceptance  of  Protestanism.  Since  then 
she  has  adopted  in  her  work  the  *'loving  method" 
spoken  of  by  Dr.  Oldham,  and  it  has  been  most 
successful. 

A  few  points  made  in  the  floor  discussions  may  be 
taken  as  typical  of  all  that  was  said.  Mr.  Hurrey, 
speaking  concerning  work  for  the  educated  classes,  ad- 
vocated friendly  helpfulness,  particularly  toward  those 
who  go  to  the  United  States  for  education  and  who 
find  themselves  friendless  and  in  need  in  our  colleges 
and  universities.  Meet  them  on  shipboard  before  land- 
ing to  advise  with  them.  In  New  Orleans,  Baltimore 
and  New  York  have  places  where  they  can  be  received 
and  saved  from  disreputable  resorts.  Such  friendli- 
ness will  result  in  the  success  that  was  related  in  the 
case  of  a  brother  of  one  of  the  Central-iVmerican 
presidents  who  went  to  t-he  Northfield  student  confer- 
ence with  prejudice  and  determined  to  leave.  The 
Christian  spirit  displayed  there  entirely  changed  his 
attitude,  and  he  is  now  most  approachable.  Mr.  Ewald, 
who  as  an  Association  secretary  has  had  much  to  do 
with  Latin  students,  urged  the  importance  of  setting 
apart  men  to  reach  the  student  and  cultured  classes, 
thus  providing  them  a  leadership  that  would  command 
their  respect.  Particularly  important  is  it  to  raise  up 
an  educated  Latin  ministry  to  supplement  the  inade- 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD  yz 

quacies  of  missionaries,  especially  in  the  free  use  of 
the  Latin  tongues,  though  some  of  these  missionaries 
seem  to  have  been  born  with  Latin  hearts  and  Iberian 
tact.  In  twenty  or  thirty  places  establish  a  center  pre- 
sided over  by  a  strong  man  who  will  give  himself  to  this 
class,  so  strategic  in  the  community.  Secretary  Ewing 
of  the  Christian  Association  told  of  methods  used 
among  university  students,  beginning  with  activities 
for  promoting  good  fellowship,  sociability  and  physi- 
cal upbuilding  which,  since  student  work  was  estab- 
lished, affect  the  lives  of  nearly  five  hundred  who 
attend  the  Uruguayan  student  conferences.  Social 
service  has  been  organized  and  a  group  of  thirty  are 
making  a  preliminary  social  survey.  In  the  National 
University  of  Buenos  Aires  an  inner  circle  of  fifteen 
believers  use  every  opportunity  to  present  vital  Chris- 
tianity, so  that  during  the  six  years  points  of  contact 
with  about  two  thousand  students,  professors  and  gov- 
ernment ofBcials  have  been  established. 

Mr.  Lenington  of  Brazil  told  typical  stories  of  the 
effect  produced  upon  auditors  by  preaching  the  father- 
hood of  God.  A  person  said  to  him  once:  "I  will 
always  thank  God  that  I  came  into  this  first  evangelical 
service,  because  I  never  knew  before  that  God  was  my 
Father."  A  federal  judge  was  overheard  saying  to 
some  fellow  lawyers  whom  he  was  urging  to  attend 
a  service  at  which  the  Lord's  Prayer  was  to  be  ex- 
pounded :  *'I  want  all  of  you  men  to  go  to-night,  be- 
cause you  have  never  realized  what  it  is  to  know  God 
as  your  Father,  as  I  have  heard  that  man  tell  of  the 


74  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Father's  kingdom,  the  Father's  will,  the  Father's  name. 
He  is  the  Father  who  cares  for  all  the  needs  of  life." 

Mr.  Allison  of  Guatemala  gave  as  the  chief  hin- 
drance in  the  Romanist's  way,  preventing  his  accept- 
ance of  evangelical  teaching,  the  wide  circulation  by 
Catholics  of  commendations  of  their  Church  by  Prot- 
estants, and  warned  North  Americans  against  "the 
Protestant  defense  of  Romanism."  The  Rev.  Eduardo 
C.  Pereira  reminded  the  Congress  of  the  twenty-third 
chapter  of  St.  Matthew,  of  the  attitude  of  the  apostles 
toward  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  and  of  St.  Paul's 
denunciation  of  error  and  said  that  he  desired  to 
imitate  these  great  exemplars  not  only  in  proclaiming 
the  love  of  the  Gospels,  but  also  in  calling  attention 
to  religious  errors  taught  in  Latin  lands  without  war- 
rant from  Scripture. 

Evangelistic  campaigns  as  a  method  of  extending 
the  message  were  discussed  by  two  specialists,  Dr. 
John  R.  Mott  and  Miss  Rouse.  Cooperation  even  of 
two  persons  was,  according  to  Dr.  Mott,  an  essential 
prerequisite  for  success.  With  united  plans  campaigns 
are  possible  in  most  unpromising  sections,  as  in  Rus- 
sia, for  example.  When  they  are  well  organized  and 
manned,  immense  fruitage  follows  as  in  Sherwood 
Eddy's  Asiatic  work,  seconded  by  men  like  Ding 
Li-mei  in  China.  Conclusions  that  he  had  reached 
were  these :  ( i )  If  we  want  great  results,  we  must  con- 
centrate. (2)  We  must  sink  our  differences  and  fall 
in  humility  at  the  feet  of  Christ,  all  of  us  united.  (3) 
Men  must  be  set  apart  for  special  work — men  like  Dr. 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD  75 

William  E.  Taylor  of  China  and  Baron  Nicolai  of 
Russia,  though  sometimes  important  aid  is  given  by 
men  from  without,  like  Mr.  Eddy. 

From  her  successful  student  work  in  European  coun- 
tries, Miss  Rouse  had  learned  that  one  must  speak  out 
frankly,  even  though  it  is  a  great  adventure.  National 
psychology  will  greatly  aid  in  evangelistic  work,  when 
it  is  understood  and  used.  Students  are  to  be  met  on 
grounds  familiar  to  them — if  religion  is  a  matter  of 
rewards  and  punishments,  or  of  auto-suggestion,  begin 
from  that  point.  Do  not  attack  the  customs  and  re- 
ligions of  a  country,  and  avoid  the  appearance  of 
trying  to  win  converts  to  any  given  Christian  church. 
Follow  up  the  campaign  with  apologetic  literature,  not 
American  or  English,  but  material  prepared  by  nation- 
als of  a  given  country. 

What  this  sketch  of  a  wonderful  day  has  utterly 
failed  to  reproduce  is  the  growing  spirit  of  unity  in  the 
delegates'  attitude  toward  all  phases  of  opposition  to 
Roman  Catholicism.  Antagonism  and  bitterness  grad- 
ually melted  into  a  sense  of  brotherly  longing  to  aid 
Romanists  toward  a  fulness  of  Christian  love  and  life 
which  they  sadly  lack  and  for  which  many  inwardly 
hunger.  Single  sentences,  petitions  in  prayer,  and  espe- 
cially the  remarks  of  Dr.  Oldham  and  Bishop  Brown, 
the  latter  the  chairman  of  the  Commission,  were  the 
means  used  by  God  to  bring  the  Congress  to  this  frame 
of  mind.  At  the  morning  session.  Dr.  Oldham  was  the 
lock-operator  in  the  control  house — to  employ  Canal 
terminology — who  opened  the  flood-gates  that  began 


76  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

to  lift  the  Congress  to  the  higher  level.  After  a  touch- 
ing reference  to  his  early  training  in  a  Roman  Catholic 
home  and  the  turning  to  evangelical  views,  he  said 
with  the  utmost  tenderness  and  yet  with  profoundest 
feeling  that  if  it  were  his  privilege  to  minister  to  those 
of  a  different  faith,  his  Saviour  would  surely  teach  him 
what  should  be  the  trend  of  his  teaching  and  the  tone 
of  his  appeal.  Bishop  Brown,  who  had  been  a  mis- 
sionary of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Brazil 
for  twenty- four  years,  concluded  the  work  of  the  day's 
conference  sessions  with  a  story  which  so  well  illus- 
trates the  spirit  of  the  man  and  of  the  majority  of  the 
delegates  that  it  is  reproduced  at  length.  It  will  sug- 
gest how  much  is  lost  by  a  condensed  report  like  the 
present  one,  and  will  exhibit  the  interpreter,  the  mes- 
sage, the  interpretation  and  the  method  as  nothing 
else  could  do. 

The  incident  is  this,  in  part :  "I  remember  there  was 
a  woman  of  about  sixty  years  who  began  to  attend 
the  services  of  my  church.  It  was  my  custom  to  go 
down  immediately  at  the  close  of  the  service  to  the 
door  to  shake  hands  and  to  say  some  word  to  everyone 
present,  but  that  good  woman  invariably  escaped  be- 
fore I  could  get  there.  After  attending  every  service — 
Sunday  morning,  Sunday  night  and  Wednesday  eve- 
ning— for  perhaps  three  or  four  months,  she  remained 
and  I  had  an  opportunity  of  speaking  with  her.  I  told 
her  how  great  had  been  my  pleasure  in  seeing  her  in 
constant  attendance  upon  the  church  services,  and  I 
asked  if  I  might  have  the  pleasure  of  visiting  her  at 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD  'J^ 

her  home.  With  the  courtesy  which  never  fails,  she 
said,  using  that  phrase  which  is  so  famihar,  'My  house 
is  at  your  orders/  I  went  to  see  her,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  conversation  I  asked  her  what  it  was  that  first 
attracted  her  to  the  church.  She  repHed  that  the  first 
thing  was  that  in  passing  the  doors,  she  heard  a  large 
number  of  persons  singing.  That  w^as  a  strange  thing 
to  her.  She  made  some  inquiry  and  learned  that  we 
were  Protestants.  That  frightened  her  somewhat,  be- 
cause there  are  so  many  of  the  plainer  people  who 
think  that  a  Protestant  is  one  who  denies  the  existence 
of  God.  Then  she  said :  'After  I  had  overcome  my 
fear,  I  ventured  to  attend  your  church,  but  I  was 
afraid  to  speak  to  you.  One  thing  that  attracted  my 
attention  was  the  singing  of  the  hymns  in  the  Portu- 
guese language.  I  could  understand  it;  and  then  you 
read  something  from  a  book,'  she  had  never  known 
anything  about  the  Bible,  'and  I  understood  that.  Then 
you  spoke  to  us  all.  I  understood  every  word  you  said. 
I  would  like  to  be  a  member  of  your  church,  but  there 
is  one  difficulty.  When  I  was  a  child  ten  years  of  age, 
my  mother  on  her  deathbed  called  me  to  her  and  gave 
me  a  little  image  of  St.  Anthony  and  asked  me  as  her 
dying  request  that  on  given  days  I  would  kneel  before 
that  image  and  make  my  devotions.  From  that  day  to 
this,  I  have  complied  with  that  dying  request.  You 
have  never  said  one  word  in  any  sermon  that  I  have 
heard  directly  touching  this  particular  point;  but  I 
know  perfectly  well  that  if  I  were  a  member  of  your 
church,  I  ought  not  to  continue  that  practice.     If  I 


78  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

were  to  discontinue  it,  it  would  seem  to  me  as  if  I 
were  dishonoring  the  memory  of  my  mother.' 

"I  know  not  how  others  might  deal  with  that  case. 
But  I  confess  that  as  I  looked  into  her  face,  I  said: 
*You  mistake  me  greatly,  if  you  think  I  do  not  under- 
stand fully  and  sympathize  deeply  with  you,  but  I  want 
to  say  just  two  things.  The  first  is  that  if  your  mother 
had  had  the  light  that  you  now  have,  she  would  never 
have  made  that  request.  The  second  thing  is  that  I 
want  to  make  a  very  simple  request  of  you.  Go  and 
light  your  candle;  kneel  and  make  your  devotions 
before  the  image  of  St.  Anthony.  In  addition  to  that, 
I  am  going  to  give  you  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament. 
I  am  going  to  mark  certain  passages,  and  I  want  you 
to  go  apart  at  least  once  every  day  to  get  all  by  your- 
self and  read  one  or  two  of  those  marked  passages  and 
then  kneel  down  and  lift  up  your  heart  to  God  in 
prayer.  Believe  that  He  is  your  Father  and  that  He 
loves  you  and  takes  care  of  you.  Tell  Him  all  your 
cares  and  griefs ;  keep  nothing  back  from  Him.  You 
can  tell  Him  what  you  would  not  dare  to  tell  another. 
Speak  to  Him  with  the  utmost  freedom,  for  He  loves 
you.  And  then  after  a  time,  I  want  you  to  come  back 
to  me  and  let  us  talk  again.' 

*T  never  shall  forget  as  long  as  I  live  the  day  she 
returned.  Perhaps  two  months  had  passed  and  one 
day  after  the  service  she  came  toward  me  and  said: 
'Now  I  am  ready.  In  all  the  years  that  have  passed, 
God  my  Father  has  dealt  with  infinite  tenderness  to- 
ward me.     He  knew  that  I  was  acting  in  ignorance. 


INTERPRETATION,  MESSAGE,  METHOD  79 

I  thought  that  it  was  because  of  the  candle  and  the 
prayers  that  I  said  before  that  particular  image.  Now 
I  find  that  God  did  not  see  the  candle  nor  the  image. 
But  He  saw  my  heart;  and  yet  I  find  a  sweeter  com- 
fort in  going  direct  to  Him  without  anything  interven- 
ing. H  you  will  have  me,  I  am  ready  to  enter  your 
Church.'  I  dare  say  that  men  of  different  temper- 
ament might  deal  with  a  situation  of  that  kind  in  dif- 
ferent ways;  yet,  dear  friends,  it  does  seem  so  im- 
portant to  show  a  loving  and  kind  spirit  in  all  our 
public  utterances.  There  will  be  occasions,  of  course, 
in  private  when  men  come  to  you  and  ask  their  ques- 
tions. Then  you  speak  on  these  controversial  points, 
but  I  would  not  bring  them  up  in  the  midst  of  a  great 
congregation.  ...  I  want  to  leave  this  thought  in 
your  minds.  The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us'  in  all 
our  poor,  weak,  fluctuating  love  for  Him.  By  the  ad- 
mission of  that  love,  we  shall  learn  in  time  what  has 
been  so  well  called,  'the  insuperable  power  of  pure  af- 
fection.' "  Under  the  magic  spell  of  that  love,  the  dele- 
gates left  the  hall. 


IV 
LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION 

The  questions  of  Plato's  ''Republic,"  "What  then  is 
education  ?  Or  is  there  a  better  than  the  old-fashioned 
sort?"  were  masterfully  investigated  and  lucidly  dis- 
cussed for  Latin  America  in  the  report  of  Commission 
III  on  "Education."  Its  chairman  was  Professor 
Donald  C.  MacLaren,  former  President  of  Mackenzie 
College,  Brazil,  easily  the  foremost  missionary  insti- 
tution in  South  America.  Upon  the  Commission  were 
notable  American  educators,  like  President  King  of 
Oberlin  College,  Professor  E.  D.  Burton  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago,  Dean  Russell  of  Teachers  College 
and  his  encyclopedic  colleague,  Professor  Paul  Monroe, 
besides  fifteen  missionary  and  national  represen- 
tatives of  Latin-American  institutions  and  ten 
Other  notable  authorities.  Their  printed  report 
was  not  only  the  most  extended  one  presented  to 
the  Congress,  but  it  also  ranks  as  the  best  exposition 
of  education,  viewed  from  a  missionary  standpoint, 
thus  far  produced  for  any  single  great  section  of  the 
mission  field. 

In  the  absence  of  the  chairman,  a  vice-chairman, 
President  King,  presented  the  report  and  made  the 
closing  address.     In  clarity,  justness  of  perspective, 

8l 


82  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

wise  selection  of  points  of  emphasis,  manifestation  of 
pedagogical  acumen  and  loyalty  to  the  intellectual 
processes  as  swayed  by  God,  it  was  surpassed  by  no 
other  presentation  of  Commission  chairmen.  As  the 
first  two  objectives  of  the  report  were  technical  and 
intended  to  be  useful  and  stimulating  to  the  educational 
workers  on  the  field  and  to  missionary  secretaries  and 
Board  officials,  mission  study  class  leaders  and  others 
in  the  home  lands  already  interested  in  Latin  America, 
this  chapter  will  address  itself  to  the  Christian  public 
in  general  whose  intelligent  interest  is  desired. 

The  delegates  would  probably  agree  that  President 
King's  resume,  given  at  the  close  of  the  day,  included 
the  outstanding  impressions  made  by  the  report  and  the 
five  hours'  discussion  of  the  subject.  He  named  six 
particularly  significant  facts :  ( i )  The  enormous  illit- 
eracy of  Latin  America,  ranging  from  forty  to  eighty 
percent.,  with  great  regions  wholly  unreached  by  edu- 
cation. (2)  Yet  in  many  sections  there  is  a  well  or- 
ganized system  of  instruction,  from  the  kindergarten 
to -the  university.  (3)  All  the  missionaries  bear  wit- 
ness to  the  strongly  marked  leadership  of  the  highly 
educated  men  of  Latin  America.  (4)  But  according 
to  the  same  testimony,  almost  unanimously  given, 
these  men  are  generally  abjuring  religion  as  out-of- 
date.  (5)  Almost  everywhere  there  is  a  very  inade- 
quate training  of  the  Christian  community,  especially 
of  its  leaders,  both  teachers  and  preachers.  (6)  There 
is  dire  need  of  industrial  and  agricultural  training  at 
certain  points  for  the  economic  uplift  of  the  people. 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  83 

This  demand  will  be  all  the  more  urgent,  as  we  extend 
our  ministrations  to  the  Indians  whose  problems  have 
been  touched  only  in  a  desultory  way  thus  far.  With- 
out attempting  to  enlarge  upon  these  facts  seriatim, 
most  of  them  and  others  not  mentioned  will  be  consid- 
ered, omitting  the  education  of  women  and  girls  and 
the  problems  of  the  national  church  leadership,  which 
are  discussed  in  Chapters  VI  and  VII  respectively. 

Details  as  to  illiteracy  are  quoted  by  the  Commis- 
sion in  this  paragraph:  "In  few  nations  is  illiteracy 
more  pronounced.  In  some  countries,  such  as  Ecua- 
dor, it  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  any  accurate  estimate. 
In  such  advanced  countries  as  Brazil,  some  estimates 
reach  as  high  as  eighty  percent.  The  best  estimates 
are  given  herewith:  Argentina,  fifty  and  five-tenths 
percent,  of  persons  six  years  of  age  and  older;  Bolivia, 
*a  large  proportion  can  read';  Brazil,  seventy  per- 
cent. ;  Chile,  sixty-three  percent. ;  Colombia,  eighty 
percent. ;  Uruguay,  forty  percent,  of  persons  six  years 
of  age  and  older;  Costa  Rica,  'large  proportion' ;  Hon- 
duras, 'high' ;  Mexico,  sixty-three  percent,  of  persons 
over  twelve  years  of  age." 

These  figures  should  not  be  understood  as  necessa- 
rily indicative  of  a  general  apathy  as  to  education.  Re- 
member that  Latin  America's  average  density  of  popu- 
lation is  less  than  ten  persons  per  square  mile,  with 
perhaps  three  children  of  school-going  age.  If  town 
and  urban  populations  are  subtracted  the  average  per 
square  mile  would  be  greatly  reduced,  so  that  in  many 
rural  districts  thirty  square  miles  would  not  provide 


84  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

enough  pupils  for  a  single  school.  In  certain  sections 
of  Argentina,  a  hundred  square  miles  would  not  sup- 
ply a  sufficient  number.  Just  as  in  Africa's  Protestant 
sub-continent  it  is  practically  impossible  for  British 
and  Boers  to  provide  education  for  their  children,  so 
it  is  impracticable  for  many  sections  of  Latin  America 
to  support  schools,  even  if  the  financial  obstacle  were 
not  also  prohibitive.  Yet  it  must  be  confessed  that 
Latin  Americans  are  not  so  eager  for  education  among 
the  lower  classes  as  in  most  civilized  countries,  even 
outside  the  Indian  and  negro  half-breeds. 

What  are  the  various  governments  doing  to  remedy 
this  stigma  of  illiteracy?  As  they  do  not  regard  it  as 
such  in  any  great  degree,  they  are  doing  very  little, 
except  in  the  higher  branches  of  education,  and  also 
for  the  upper  classes.  Their  elementary  schools  are 
the  least  developed  part  of  the  educational  system. 
The  backward  races  form  so  large  a  percentage  of  the 
population — in  Mexico,  for  example,  three-fourths  of 
the  total  is  Indian  and  one-sixth  is  mixed  Indian  blood 
— that  little  is  done  for  them.  The  attention  given  to 
the  education  of  girls  in  elementary  schools  is  rela- 
tively satisfactory,  as  the  number  provided  for  them 
is  about  seven-twelfths  as  great  as  for  boys.  Coedu- 
cation, it  should  be  said,  is  rare  after  pupils  are  ten 
years  of  age.  The  curriculum  as  legally  set  forth 
leaves  little  to  be  desired,  though  what  is  actually 
taught  falls  far  short  of  the  requirements.  As  a  large 
part  of  this  work  in  a  number  of  countries  is  done  in 
Roman  Catholic  schools,  subsidized  by  the  state,  Chris- 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  85 

tian  doctrine  and  sacred  history  form  part  of  the  ele- 
mentary school  curriculum.  Unhappily  the  memoriter 
method  is  in  vogue,  and  in  many  schools  the  catechet- 
ical plan  of  questions  and  answers  prevails.  In  too 
many  schools  it  is  true,  as  in  Bolivia,  that  the  end 
and  aim  of  teachers  and  scholars  is  to  prepare  for  the 
two  yearly  examinations.  In  the  republic  just  named, 
a  list  of  questions,  containing  twice  as  many  as  there 
are  pupils  in  the  class,  is  prepared,  answers  to  which 
may  be  found  in  the  texts  used. 

Secondary  schools — liceos  and  colegios — form  the 
most  important  and  flourishing  part  of  the  Latin- 
American  educational  system.  They  are  more  nearly 
connected  with  the  higher  steps  in  education  than  with 
the  elementary,  so  that  in  some  states  pupils  can  enter 
them  only  through  private  preparatory  schools.  Being 
under  the  same  government  control  as  the  universities, 
they  are  viewed  with  favor.  Instructors  are  employed 
to  lecture  three  hours  a  week,  while  an  administrative 
staff  permanently  engaged  gives  some  oversight  to 
student  life  and  also  supervises  the  instruction.  The 
classics  are  often  absent  from  these  state  schools, 
but  modern  languages  are  studied— English  following 
French  in  popularity  and  German  standing  third.  The 
six-year  course  covers  part  of  the  work  done  by  col- 
leges in  the  United  States,  and  in  most  cases  its  com- 
pletion is  crowned  by  the  degree  of  B.  A.,  or  of  Bach- 
elor of  Humanities,  thus  affording  direct  entrance  to 
the  national  universities.  The  graduate  differs  from 
the  secondary  school  alumnus  in  the  United  States  in 


86  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

his  having  Httle  or  no  acquaintance  with  the  classics, 
in  his  greater  knowledge  of  his  national  literature,  in 
his  fuller  mastery  of  modern  languages,  in  his  ac- 
quaintance with  philosophy,  logic,  psychology,  ethics 
and  sociology,  and  in  the  amount  of  time  given  to  his- 
tory, civics,  the  natural  sciences,  drawing,  geography 
and  military  exercises.  E.  E.  Brandon,  in  his  mono- 
graph on  the  Latin-American  universities,  says :  "The 
age  of  the  liceo  graduate  is  about  the  same  as  that  of 
the  American  boy  when  he  finishes  high  school.  The 
Latin  American  is  perhaps  superior  in  breadth  of 
vision,  cosmopolitan  sympathy,  power  of  expression 
and  argumentative  ability,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  per- 
haps inferior  in  the  power  of  analysis  and  initiative 
and  in  the  spirit  of  self-reliance." 

The  universities  of  Latin  America,  of  which  there 
were  twelve  before  the  year  1800,  w^ere  in  a  peculiar 
sense  the  organs  of  the  Roman  Church  during  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  centuries ;  and  hence  they  were 
often  the  medium  for  the  expression  of  its  views  and 
the  instruments  for  the  exercise  of  its  power.  Their 
principal  object  was  to  promote  the  cause  of  religion 
and  to  provide  an  educated  clerg}\  The  university 
thus  became  an  effective  instrument  for  controlling  in 
the  interests  of  the  Church,  not  only  the  social  life  of 
the  people,  but  also  the  education  given  by  the  state. 
It  was  a  great  conservative  force  and  served  as  one  of 
the  chief  bulwarks  of  the  divine  right  of  government 
through  a  monarchy. 

With  the  establishment  of  independent  nationalities 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  87 

early  in  the  last  century,  the  universities  were  secular- 
ized and  passed  under  the  control  of  the  state.  This 
was  in  part  a  result  of  French  critical  thought  and  the 
skepticism  of  the  period,  in  part  a  movement  toward 
freedom  in  religion,  and  in  part  a  rejection  of  the 
control  of  the  mother  country  exercised  through 
Church  and  State.  Hence  it  is  that  the  government 
universities  to-day  are  non-religious;  and  because  of 
the  liberal  views  of  the  professors,  most  of  the  students 
are  either  opposed  to  the  Church  and  its  mediaeval 
obscurantism,  or  are  apathetic  as  regards  all  religion. 

As  Latin  America  has  nothing  corresponding  to  the 
American  college,  it  naturally  follows  that  its  univer- 
sities should  consist  of  professional  schools,  prepared 
for  in  part  by  students  from  the  six-year  course  liceos 
or  colegios,  and  in  part  supplementing  this  deficiency 
by  courses  ordinarily  given  in  our  colleges.  While 
the  central  place  of  the  arts  department  is  thus  usurped 
by  the  specialty  of  a  given  university  faculty,  its  cur- 
riculum is  broadened  by  the  inclusion  of  whatever  is 
deemed  essential  to  complete  the  student's  knowledge. 
Thus  in  both  medicine  and  engineering,  there  is  much 
more  comprehensive  training  in  science  than  with  us; 
yet  it  is  to  be  noted  that  this  science  is  taught  with  the 
concrete  social  problems  of  medicine  or  of  engineering 
in  view.  Law  courses  especially  are  very  broad  and 
require  as  many  years  as  the  combined  college  and  law 
curricula  in  North  America.  The  breadth  of  such 
instruction  will  account  for  the  fact  that  in  some  coun- 
tries fully  eighty  percent,  of  the  graduates  of  these 


88  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

schools  do  not  enter  the  legal  profession  but  take  the 
studies  for  their  general  educative  value. 

University  student  bodies  lack  the  solidarity  of 
American  students,  partly  because  dormitory  life  exists 
in  only  a  very  few,  and  also  because  the  different  facul- 
ties often  occupy  buildings  remote  from  each  other, 
instead  of  sharing  a  common  campus.  The  influence 
of  professors  upon  the  students  is  less  marked  than  in 
America,  since  most  of  them  simply  give  lectures  as 
additional  to  their  regular  professions  pursued  wholly 
apart  from  the  university.  Consequently  they  have 
little  interest  in  the  institution  and  its  student  body. 
As  there  is  no  permanent  teaching  staff,  except  those 
professors  imported  from  Europe,  the  character- form- 
ing values  of  American  universities  are  largely  absent; 
and  the  students  lack  the  restraints  of  their  teachers 
and  their  fellows  in  moral  and  religious  matters. 
These  institutions  are  wholly  under  state  control  exer- 
cised by  the  Minister  of  Education,  without  any  over- 
sight of  boards  of  overseers  or  trustees.  Any  dissat- 
isfaction with  the  administration  can  be  manifested 
only  through  student  demonstration  and  agitation. 
This  unites  them  and  the  graduate  body  very  closely 
and  gives  university  trained  men  extraordinary  influ- 
ence in  society,  politics  and  religion.  In  other  words, 
the  university  spirit  or  soul  is  not  localized  in  an  insti- 
tution, but  in  a  national  group,  or  a  social  class. 

Government  technical  and  special  schools  are  mainly 
normal,  commercial,  agricultural  and  industrial.  Of 
these,  normal  institutions  are  most  in  favor.     They 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  89 

may  be  entered  from  the  elementary  schools  at  the  min- 
imum age  of  fourteen,  and  are  thus  of  secondary 
grade.  In  recent  years  no  phase  of  technical  training 
has  shown  a  more  marked  development  than  commer- 
cial education.  Governments  favor  it  because  of  in- 
creasing industrial  and  trade  requirements  and  even 
more  in  order  to  lessen  the  number  of  educated  men 
who  as  graduates  of  the  universities  are  active  in  polit- 
ical agitation.  Agricultural  schools  range  from  little 
more  than  experiment  stations  to  the  dignity  of  a  de- 
partment of  a  university,  as  in  Argentina.  The  in- 
creasing values  of  food  products  for  export  and  home 
consumption  make  them  very  important  to  the  state. 
Students  in  the  high  grade  agricultural  college  are  usu- 
ally sons  of  the  landed  gentry,  while  the  patronage 
of  the  secondary  schools  is  mainly  drawn  from  the  less 
favored  social  strata, — the  sons  of  farmers  and  over- 
seers who  are  not  landholders.  Industrial  education 
is  just  now  being  especially  emphasized,  due  in  large 
part  to  the  publication  in  1912  of  F.  Encinas's  book 
on  "Our  Economic  Inferiority."  The  excellent  tech- 
nical school  systems  of  the  United  States  and  Germany 
are  being  closely  studied  with  the  expectation  of  incor- 
porating their  methods  in  the  schools  now  being  estab- 
lished. Previously  departments  of  engineering  were 
part  of  the  university  scheme,  and  now  secondary 
schools  of  arts  and  trade  are  being  established  with  a 
broader  and  more  practical  objective,  even  including 
such  trades  as  tailoring,  cobbling  and  blacksmithing. 
Turning   from   state  education,   one  finds  in  the 


90  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Roman  Church's  present  educational  activities  very 
little  work  of  high  scholastic  grade.  Historically  it 
v^as  almost  the  sole  teacher,  from  the  simple  school 
where  Indians  were  taught  to  read,  to  Latin  America's 
ancient  and  more  recent  universities.  As  the  latter  in- 
stitutions are  now  under  state  control,  the  Church  has 
little  interest  in  them.  Besides  some  participation  in 
other  universities,  it  has  two  of  its  own,  less  than  thirty 
years  old — at  Santiago,  Chile,  and  at  Buenos  Aires. 
The  former  has  faculties  of  law,  mathematics,  agricul- 
ture and  industry,  and  engineering.  The  latter,  still  in 
its  formative  period,  has  schools  of  law  and  social 
science.  So  for  the  most  part,  aside  from  theological 
education,  the  Church's  efforts  are  directed  toward  the 
support  and  supervision  of  secondary  schools.  In  these 
are  to  be  found  most  of  the  boys  of  the  upper  classes. 
From  them  come  all  the  members  of  the  learned  pro- 
fessions. Here  are  trained  the  men  who  later  domi- 
nate society  and  direct  the  state.  Consequently  the 
control  of  these  schools  is  the  strategic  educational 
leverage. 

As  for  elementary  education,  it  apparently  is  not 
greatly  desired  for  the  common  people  by  the  hier- 
archy. Professor  Ross  writes :  *Tor  the  children  of 
the  peons  the  Church  desires  no  education  other  than 
that  drill  in  the  rudiments  of  her  faith  which  she  her- 
self provides.  Secular  education  will  not  promote  their 
eternal  welfare  and  it  may  endanger  it.  That  educa- 
tion should  give  them  a  chance  to  rise  in  life  does  not 
appeal  to  her.     What  is  'rising  in  life'  compared  with 


YUCATAX-INDIAN  EVANGELIST.  MEXICO 
WOMAN  COLPORTEUR,  CHILE 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  91 

saving  the  soul  ?  .  .  .  The  priest  wants  the  peons 
ignorant  in  order  that  he  may  preserve  his  authority 
over  them,  keep  their  feet  from  straying  from  the  path 
of  eternal  salvation  and  be  relieved  of  the  necessity  of 
defending  his  doctrines,  combating  heresies  and  meet- 
ing the  competition  of  the  Protestant  missionary.  If, 
however,  education  must  come,  the  Church  wants  to 
provide  it  herself  in  her  own  parish  school,  where,  as 
a  clerical  editor  put  it  to  me,  'religion  saturates  the 
entire  course  of  study/  " 

The  part  played  by  evangelical  missions  in  Latin- 
American  education  has  been  an  important  one,  though 
the  Societies  have  not  done  a  tithe  as  much  as  the 
opportunities  and  needs  demand.  At  the  beginning, 
at  the  close  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  last  century, 
the  Rev.  James  Thomson,  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society,  landed  at  Buenos  Aires  and  established 
Lancasterian  schools.  The  man  and  the  system  were 
very  interestingly  described  at  a  special  session  of  the 
Congress  delegates  by  Dr.  Browning  of  Chile.  It  will 
be  recalled  that  these  schools  adopted  the  plan  of  small 
classes  under  student  monitors.  The  master  outlined 
the  work  of  the  day  to  them  in  a  preliminary  session, 
and  they  in  turn  taught  it  to  the  classes.  The  book 
used  for  reading  was  the  Bible  without  notes  as  pub- 
lished by  his  Society.  Argentina,  Chile,  Peru,  Colom- 
bia, Venezuela  and  Mexico  welcomed  and  aided  his 
schools  financially,  as  did  the  Church  at  first  through 
its  more  liberal  clergy.  The  result  was  that  not  a  few 
leading  Latin  Americans  became  liberalized  and  gladly 


92  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

welcomed  the  introduction  of  the  gospel.  Many  states- 
men secured  copies  of  the  Bible,  studied  it  and  pro- 
fessed to  be  guided  by  its  teachings.  In  Mexico,  the 
government  dispossessed  the  beautiful  convent  of  Beth- 
lehem, which  accommodated  a  thousand  students.  The 
schools  soon  disappeared,  probably  because  of  a  lack 
of  proper  teachers,  as  also  because  of  the  persecution 
awakened  among  the  obscurantists  by  the  introduction 
of  the  Bible.  Had  these  schools  of  Thomson  contin- 
ued, it  is  probable  that  the  ecclesiastical  history  of 
South  America  would  have  been  different,  giving,  as 
they  did,  the  pure  Word  of  God  to  the  ruling  classes. 

Little  more  was  attempted  until  forty  years  ago, 
when  the  Societies  did  their  pioneer  work,  largely  op- 
portunist in  character.  Thus,  if  local  prejudice  was 
against  woman's  education,  secondary  schools  for 
young  men  were  started;  if  there  was  a  demand  for 
women  teachers,  as  in  Mexico,  normal  schools  for 
girls  were  established.  Southern  Brazil,  Argentina, 
Chile  and  British  Guiana  have  been  the  countries 
where  evangelical  schools  have  been  most  successfully 
developed  by  missionaries.  In  the  country  last 
named,  the  parochial  schools  of  the  Wesleyans  and 
Church  of  England  enroll  more  than  17,000  pupils. 
Bolivia  supplies  the  most  notable  recent  example  of 
state  subsidization  of  North  American  mission  schools, 
though  limitations  as  to  religious  instruction  will  prob- 
ably lead  to  giving  up  the  aid  as  soon  as  sufficient 
missionary  funds  can  be  secured. 

A  few  references  to  specific  work,  suggestive  of  a 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  93 

great  mass  of  similar  data,  will  be  given,  beginning 
with  elementary  education.  Kindergartens,  the 
pioneer  of  which  class  may  have  been  Miss  Phoebe 
Thomas',  established  in  Sao  Paulo  in  1882,  are 
usually  a  department  of  boarding  or  normal  schools. 
They  are  most  successful  when  conducted  by  Chris- 
tian Latin-American  women  trained  in  the  United 
States.  Free  government  kindergartens  are  leading  to 
their  discontinuance,  a  step  greatly  deprecated  by  one 
of  the  delegates. 

The  Argentine  evangelical  schools,  established  in 
1898  in  Buenos  Aires  by  the  Rev.  C.  Morris  of  the 
South  American  Missionary  Society,  are  notable  in- 
stances of  philanthropic  schools  for  poorer  children. 
An  inspiration  has  thus  been  given  to  the  movement,  so 
that  these  schools  in  that  capital  enroll  five  thousand 
six  hundred  pupils,  receive  an  annual  subsidy  from 
the  government  of  nearly  $93,000  and  own  buildings 
valued  at  $192,000,  largely  secured  by  popular  sub- 
scription. Dr.  Speer  writes  of  the  schools :  "No  one 
can  see  these  great  throngs  of  children,  orderly,  well 
taught,  reading  the  New  Testament  as  one  of  their 
text-books,  inspired  with  the  sense  of  duty  to  God 
and  to  their  country,  prepared  practically  for  life  by 
industrial  training,  without  being  uplifted  by  the 
sight." 

Evangelical  parochial  schools,  developed  to  some 
extent  in  Mexico  and  Chile,  but  reaching  their  com- 
pletest  form  in  those  under  the  fostering  care  of  the 
Rev.  William  A.  Waddell,  now  President  of  Mackenzie 


94  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

College,  are  for  Protestants  and  others  who  desire  to 
patronize  them.  Foreign  standards  are  abandoned; 
their  courses  in  the  vernacular  are  much  like  those  of 
primary  grades  in  the  United  States,  offering  the 
irreducible  minimum  of  instruction  necessary  for  every 
citizen  and  church  member.  They  are  carried  on 
under  the  control  of  ministers  or  members  of  churches 
and  are  supported  by  the  pupils'  parents,  with  the 
exception  of  the  expense  of  superintendence  and 
teacher  training.  One  dollar  thus  spent  calls  out  from 
five  to  ten  times  that  amount  from  local  sources.  A 
recent  development  makes  them  the  public  schools  of 
their  villages  supported  at  government  expense,  but 
with  full  permission  for  the  teachers  to  have  classes 
in  the  Sunday  school  and  to  visit  the  families  of  the 
children.  The  salaries  are  thus  increased,  and  the 
influence  of  evangelical  teachers  on  the  community  at 
large  is  multiplied  greatly. 

Among  elementary  schools  for  Indians,  those  of  the 
South  American  Missionary  Society  In  the  Gran  Chaco 
of  Paraguay  were  instanced  as  unusual.  Started  in 
1897,  the  first  text-books  were  in  manuscript  form, 
and  various  difficulties  were  encountered.  Mr.  W.  B. 
Grubb  in  his  ''Church  in  the  Wilds,"  pages  187-193, 
gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  work,  from  the 
learning  of  nicknamed  letters  to  the  instruction  of 
industrial  classes.  The  results  he  thus  summarizes: 
"Year  by  year  the  children  pass  out  of  the  school, 
educated  for  their  life's  work,  instructed  in  the  way 
of  righteousness,  and  prepared  to  take  up  some  trade 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  95 

and  to  learn  some  of  the  hard  lessons  of  life.  These 
are  ignorant  of  the  dark  past  of  their  parents  and  are 
surrounded  from  infancy  with  the  light  of  truth.  We 
look  to  them,  therefore,  as  the  heralds  of  the  gospel 
to  the  regions  beyond.'* 

As  among  Romanists,  evangelical  missionaries  re- 
gard the  secondary  school — liceo,  gymnasio,  instituto, 
or  colegio,  as  it  may  be  called — as  the  most  important 
feature  of  their  educational  program.  All  their  board- 
ing schools  of  any  importance  are  of  this  type,  usually 
with  an  elementary  school  in  connection  with  them. 
Coeducational  schools  of  this  grade  are  seldom 
favored.  The  Methodist  Normal  School  for  Girls  at 
Saltillo,  Mexico,  with  a  total  matriculation  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five,  is  a  useful  institution 
which  is  partly  subsidized  by  the  state.  It  not 
only  trains  evangelical  teachers  for  church  schools, 
but  the  graduates  are  also  in  great  demand  for  public 
school  positions.  The  Methodist  institution  at  Uru- 
guayana,  Brazil,  with  an  enrolment  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty,  carries  boys  through  high  school  and  pre- 
pares them  for  entering  Mackenzie  College.  Religious 
instruction  is  not  compulsory,  but  most  of  the  students 
attend  the  local  evangelical  church  and  the  Christian 
Endeavor  meetings.  Commercial  and  industrial 
schools  are  too  few,  but  those  reported  show  the  value 
of  bringing  young  people,  fitting  themselves  prac- 
tically for  life,  under  strong  religious  influences  and 
instruction.  Farming  and  gardening,  iron  and  wood 
working,  weaving  and  general  manual  training  are 


96  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

taught.  The  efficient  bibHcal  and  practical  instruction 
imparted  will  do  much  toward  solving  vexed  problems 
of  the  church.  The  religious  life  of  secondary  schools 
is  aided  through  curriculum  Bible  study,  except  in 
state  subsidized  institutions,  and  through  voluntary 
groups  and  societies,  like  Christian  Endeavor  and  the 
Student  Christian  Association.  Opinions  are  divided 
as  to  the  advisability  of  making  Bible  study  compul- 
sory, though  all  agree  that  it  should  be  competent. 
As  religious  instruction  is  compulsory  in  Catholic 
schools,  required  study  is  usually  the  policy.  Some 
societies  stipulate  that  the  majority  of  secondary 
school  students  must  be  from  evangelical  families  in 
order  to  secure  the  right  atmosphere. 

There  is  no  regular  college  of  North  American 
grade  and  character  in  Latin  lands.  Yet  there  are  a 
number  of  institutions  above  high  school  grade. 
Among  them  the  most  prominent  are  the  Baptist  Col- 
lege at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  the  Instituto  Evangelico  at 
Lavras,  Brazil,  Cranberry  College  of  the  Southern 
Methodists  in  the  same  republic,  and  the  outstanding 
institution  for  higher  learning  among  Protestants  of 
South  America,  Mackenzie  College  at  Sao  Paulo. 
Originally  Presbyterian,  it  is  now  non-sectarian,  but 
with  all  the  leading  denominations  represented  in  its 
large  international  faculty.  Technological  instruction 
is  far  more  prominent  than  are  the  courses  usual  to 
arts  departments  in  North  America.  Of  its  366 
students,  twenty-seven  are  young  women.  In  its 
affiliated  Eschola  Americana,   located  a  mile  away, 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  97 

there  is  an  enrolment  of  506  pupils  of  whom  124  are 
girls.  The  race  composition  of  its  student  body  ap- 
pears in  these  figures:  Brazilians,  514;  Italians,  150; 
Portuguese,  47;  Germans,  45;  North  Americans,  34; 
English,  28;  French,  15;  other  nationalities,  39 — the 
two  institutions  being  united  in  these  figures.  As  a 
whole,  the  college  is  practically  self-supporting  from 
tuitions.  The  state  and  national  educational  officials 
are  deeply  interested  in  Mackenzie.  Through  their 
influence,  free  excursions  have  been  run  from  other 
institutions  to  bring  the  students  together  for  various 
intercollegiate  events.  It  is  setting  the  pace  for 
higher  education  of  the  modern  type  in  Brazil.  The 
large  influence  of  the  college  and  of  its  lamented  head, 
President  H.  M.  Lane,  LL.D.,  was  publicly  acknowl- 
edged, both  in  the  Legislature  and  Senate  at  the  time 
of  his  death  in  19 12.  Another  type  of  work  of  uni- 
versity rank  is  that  done  by  Dr.  Lester  and  the  Rev. 
J.  H.  McLean  at  the  University  of  Chile,  where  they 
have  lectured  during  the  last  four  years.  Texts  selected 
include  poetry,  essays  and  works  of  fiction  permeated 
with  Christian  doctrine.  Confidence  and  friendship 
are  thus  established  in  a  republic  where  respect  for  a 
good  instructor  amounts  almost  to  veneration. 

The  Commission  reported  that  the  best  theological 
institutions  were  in  Brazil,  though  the  Presbyterian 
Seminary  at  Coyoacan,  Mexico,  was  drawing  its 
students  before  the  revolution  from  Mexico,  Central 
America  and  the  West  Indies.  Many  so-called  theo- 
logical schools  are  groups  of  from  three  to  twelve 


98  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

students  taught  by  missionaries  in  connection  with 
other  heavy  duties,  the  students  often  being  immature, 
or  engaged  in  work  as  evangeHsts  or  colporteurs.  The 
union  institution  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  Pres- 
byterians at  Campinas,  Brazil,  whose  faculty  was  so 
admirably  represented  in  the  Panama  Congress  by 
Professor  Braga,  is  probably  the  best  developed  of  its 
kind  in  South  America.  The  newly  founded  Union 
Seminary  of  Santiago,  Chile,  is  shared  by  the  Presby- 
terian and  Methodist  Missions  who  unite  on  the 
creedal  basis  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance.  That  capi- 
tal is  fortunate  in  having  six  men  who  are  well  fitted 
for  such  teaching.  Another  earlier  union  effort  is  the 
seminary  at  Mayaguez,  Porto  Rico,  where  Presby- 
terians and  United  Brethren  combine  for  theological 
instruction,  with  a  faculty  of  five  professors  and  in- 
structors. Yet,  as  will  be  seen  in  a  later  chapter,  the 
theological  education  of  Latin  America  is  lamentably 
deficient  as  a  whole,  partly  because  strong  Christian 
men  of  university  training  do  not  offer  themselves, 
and  partly  for  the  reason  that  the  theological  schools 
are  weak  financially  and  are  ineffectively  manned. 

Of  popular  educational  movements,  evangelical  in 
character,  the  varied  work  of  the  Young  Men's  and 
Young  Women's  Christian  Associations,  the  latter 
still  in  its  early  stages,  is  the  most  acceptable  and 
efficient.  Here  also  belongs  the  fine  program  of  the 
People's  Central  Institute  in  Rio  and  of  the  People's 
Institute  at  Piedras  Negras,  already  mentioned.  A 
wide  range  of  testimony  emphasizes  the  importance 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  99 

and  attractiveness  of  athletics  and  physical  instruction 
in  this  popular  form  of  educational  activity. 

The  religious  education  imparted  through  Sunday- 
schools  is  peculiarly  important  in  lands  where  the 
Bible  is  not  popularly  known.  Yet  the  investigations 
of  the  Commission  showed  that  the  prerequisites  of 
successful  work  were  largely  wanting.  In  all  Latin 
America  only  three  Sunday  schools  meet  in  buildings 
especially  designed  for  them,  two  in  Buenos  Aires  and 
the  third  at  Bello  Horizonto,  Brazil.  Of  the  fourteen 
theological  schools  reported,  seven  teach  something  of 
pedagogy,  psychology  and  Sunday-school  manage- 
ment. One  has  a  course  on  methods  of  teaching  and 
two  require  study  of  a  first-standard  teacher-training 
course.  Two  correspondents  report  the  training  of 
superintendents  by  correspondence,  seven  by  reading 
courses  and  five  by  summer  schools  or  other  schools 
of  methods.  The  only  countries  showing  any  system- 
atic effort  to  train  teachers  are  Cuba,  Mexico  and 
Brazil.  The  191 5  tour  of  workers  from  North  Amer- 
ica, headed  by  Mr.  Frank  L.  Brown,  General  Secre- 
tary of  the  World's  Sunday  School  Association,  has 
greatly  stimulated  the  interest  in  forward  movements 
in  these  schools.  Mr.  Brown  writes:  *The  line  of 
easiest  and  largest  advance  in  South  America  will  be 
through  the  Sunday  school  and  Christian  educational 
institutions.  There  is  practically  free  opportunity  for 
Sunday  schools  in  all  parts  of  South  America.  That 
so  much  progress  has  been  made  when  the  literature 
helps  have  been  so  meager,  when  teachers  have  been 


100  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

untrained,  when  there  has  been  so  Httle  to  attract 
scholars  in  the  Hne  of  special  expedients,  speaks  hope- 
fully for  the  future  when  these  conditions  shall  be 
corrected.'* 

Extremely  valuable  sections  of  the  report  upon  the 
aims,  methods  and  problems  of  evangelical  education 
and  upon  the  judgments  and  conclusions  arrived  at  by 
the  Commission  are  too  technical  and  extended  even 
to  summarize.  The  discussion  by  the  delegates 
brought  out  many  facts  bearing  upon  those  problems 
and  ideals.  A  few  of  these  follow — extracts  from 
fuller  statements. 

President  King:  ''I  suppose  that  what  the  Chris- 
tian school  is  attempting  is  ...  to  gather 
in  as  teachers  those  who  have  what  I  call  the  char- 
acter-begetting power.  Now  all  good  men  and 
women  do  not  have  it — certainly  not  in  the  same  de- 
gree. It  is  above  all  desirable  that  in  your  educa- 
tional centers  there  should  be  those  who  have  this 
contagion,  who  have  this  character-begetting  power; 
and  the  success  of  the  school  as  a  Christian  agency 
will  be  measured  largely  by  the  degree  in  which  you 
get  your  spirit  into  the  pupils  who  are  sent  out  from 
it,  who  have  in  their  turn  this  character-begetting 
power." 

The  Rev.  John  Rowland,  D.D.,  Mexico :  "The  Latin 
American,  with  his  quickness  of  perception,  his  acute- 
ness  of  analysis,  his  high  flights  of  imagination,  has 
many  qualities  that  make  us  humble  and  anxious  to 
sit  at  his  feet  and  learn  of  him,  rather  than  to  attempt 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  loi 

to  teach  him;  but  there  are  some  other  quaUties  that 
need  to  be  awakened  In  him.  In  the  whole  Latin  lan- 
guage we  can  find  no  word  that  will  translate  that 
word  that  means  so  much  for  the  Anglo-Saxon  races 
and  for  the  history  of  the  world."  Then  followed  a 
plea  for  imparting  a  stronger  conception  of  the  will, 
with  the  habitual  use  of  it  in  its  higher  practical  and 
ethical  relations. 

Dr.  Edwin  G.  Dexter,  rector  of  the  Institute 
Nacional,  Panama,  in  illustrating  the  need  of  common- 
sense  and  the  superiority  of  Latin-American  teachers 
in  the  lower  grades,  told  this  story  of  an  American 
college  graduate  whose  school  in  Porto  Rico  lost  most 
of  its  scholars.  On  examining  into  the  matter,  it  was 
discovered  that  one  of  the  scholars  was  absenting  him- 
self from  school  with  the  excuse  that  he  had  no  shoes 
to  wear.  The  teacher,  with  an  eye  for  powerful 
object-lessons,  appeared  in  the  schoolroom  the  next 
morning  barefoot.  The  children,  though  much  sur- 
prised, remained  through  the  morning  session,  but 
only  about  one-half  were  present  in  the  afternoon. 
The  next  day  only  a  quarter  of  the  children  were  at 
school.  Their  reason  for  staying  away  was  that  the 
teacher  must  be  a  peon  to  go  barefoot,  and  they  re- 
fused to  be  taught  by  a  peon. 

The  Rev.  Alvaro  Reis,  the  eminent  Presbyterian 
leader  of  Brazil,  testified  to  the  high  value  of  the  in- 
struction imparted  by  evangelical  institutions  in  which 
he  received  his  education.  He  spoke  of  the  emphasis 
placed  by  Jesuit  teachers  upon   religious  education. 


102  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

often  harmful  because  of  its  insistence  upon  image 
worship,  and  urged  that  the  open  Bible  should  be  the 
book  on  the  student's  desk,  not  only  to  be  studied,  but 
also  to  be  incarnated  in  his  daily  life. 

The  Rev.  J.  O.  Gonzales  of  Cuba,  in  discussing  the 
question  as  to  how  Christian  influence  may  be  most 
effective  in  government  institutions,  advocated  the 
Christian  Association  plan  of  supplying  hostels,  to 
which  he  would  send  missionaries  competent  to  reach 
students  of  the  modern  type.  He  would  pursue  the 
opposite  course  from  the  Jesuit's  system  of  ignoring 
modernity,  or  of  opposing  it,  saying:  "Let  the 
students  hear  what  an  unbeliever  has  to  say ;  but  at  the 
same  time  put  by  his  side  some  good,  learned  man 
prepared  to  answer  questions  that  may  arise  in  their 
minds.  In  that  way  you  may  hold  them.  Otherwise, 
they  will  laugh  at  you,  because  they  will  see  that  you 
do  not  know  what  men  of  science  have  said."  He 
spoke  out  of  seventeen  years'  experience  in  educational 
work  among  Roman  Catholics. 

Apropos  to  this  subject,  which  was  frequently 
alluded  to  in  connection  with  what  the  Commission 
had  said  of  intellectual  freedom  in  its  report,  another 
statement  of  President  King,  made  in  his  closing  ad- 
dress for  the  Commission,  may  be  quoted.  "If  ever 
we  are  to  reach  these  Intellectual  leaders,  we  must  use 
the  modern  approach ;  and  will  you  bear  a  very  faith- 
ful word  on  that  subject.  I  came  back  sick  at  heart 
from  the  Orient,  partly  because  I  found  in  India  and 
Japan  many  excellent  and  godly  missionaries  who 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  103 

were  standing  square  across  the  path  of  educated 
Hindus,  Japanese  and  Chinese.  They  were  saying 
virtually,  *You  cannot  have  anything  to  do  with  evolu- 
tion and  historical  criticism  and  be  a  Christian.*  Well, 
a  great  German  said  years  ago,  'The  wounds  of 
knowledge  can  be  healed  only  by  knowledge,*  and  we 
must  make  the  approach  to  these  men  with  a  little 
different  conception  of  the  relation  of  religion  to  the 
modern  and  intellectual  world.  I  do  not  know  any- 
thing in  the  intellectual  realm  that  forbids  a  man*s 
being  in  the  deepest  and  most  real  sense  of  the  word 
an  honest  and  consistent  follower  of  Jesus  Christ.** 
His  full  statement,  of  which  this  is  but  a  part,  was 
later  referred  to  in  vehement  criticism  by  Dr.  John 
Fox  of  New  York,  and  variously  by  others.  One 
Latin- American  woman  delegate  warmly  approved  Dr. 
King's  position  and  testified  to  its  personal  value  in 
her  own  experience.  Apparently  he  would  be  gladly 
welcomed  by  Latin  intellectuals  as  an  apologetic  and 
constructive  speaker,  if  he  could  be  induced  to  make 
a  tour  of  Latin  America,  as  some  of  the  delegates 
hope  he  may  be  induced  to  do.  This  would  be  in 
fulfilment  of  the  purpose  of  one  of  the  findings  of 
the  report.  "The  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that 
great  good  might  be  accomplished  by  the  establish- 
ment, in  Europe  or  the  United  States,  of  endowed 
lectureships,  the  lecturers  to  deal  with  the  great  ques- 
tions of  religion  and  philosophy  from  a  scholarly  point 
of  view,  and  the  lectures  to  be  deHvered  in  the  prin- 
cipal cities  of  Latin  America.'* 


104  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

The  Rev.  C.  E.  Bixler  of  Brazil  urged  the  importance 
of  agricuhural  education  in  mission  schools.  In  that 
republic  most  of  the  cultivation  is  done  with  the  hoe, 
without  a  knowledge  oftentimes  even  of  plows.  Self- 
supporting  churches  in  rural  communities  would  be 
possible,  if  such  education  w^ere  available  and  effec- 
tive. "We  must  not  only  introduce  farm  machinery, 
but  we  must  also  teach  how  to  use  it.  We  should  plan 
to  have  a  course  in  agriculture  in  the  central  schools 
that  now  exist  and  those  to  be  established  in  the 
future.  We  can  do  much  to  prepare  people  for  self- 
support  in  this  way,  because  one  man  with  a  machine 
can  do  the  work  of  five  or  ten  working  with  the  hoe; 
and  if  we  can  increase  their  production  with  little 
cost,  they  can  have  something  to  give."  He  had 
previously  stated  that  the  success  of  the  gospel  had 
been  greatest  among  a  middle  class  who  had  land 
enough,  but  who  could  not  ordinarily  cultivate  more 
than  four  acres  because  of  the  prevalent  hoe  culture. 
This  was  insufficient  to  provide  anything  more  than 
the  food  and  clothing  of  a  large  family,  leaving  noth- 
ing for  supporting  the  church. 

The  Rev.  W.  E.  Browning,  Ph.D.,  of  Chile  regarded 
the  following  as  the  greatest  weaknesses  of  educa- 
tional work  from  the  point  of  view  of  religious  results. 
The  missionary  is  too  timid  in  dealing  with  his 
students,  especially  in  teaching  the  Bible.  In  Chile 
there  is  too  little  permanency  in  the  faculty,  with  many 
short  term  and  contract  teachers,  who  remain  so  brief 
a   time   that  they   do   not  learn   the   language  well 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  105 

enough  to  be  a  religious  help  to  their  students  and  to 
make  the  cumulative  influence  of  Christian  friendship 
tell.  Incompetence  due  to  sending  the  best  candidates 
to  the  Far  East  and  supplying  Latin  America  with 
the  dubious  remnants  is  another  cause — men  like  this 
one  recommended  to  him  by  a  distinguished  educator 
to  whom  he  had  applied  for  a  teacher :  "Our  men  go 
to  China.  There  is  only  one  man  who  might  go  to 
you.  He  is  rather  uncouth  and  awkward.  He  re- 
minds me  of  a  great,  awkward  Newfoundland  pup, 
but  I  think  he  would  just  fit  into  your  work."  Dr. 
Browning  well  addsj  "Of  what  help  would  that  man 
be  in  meeting  the  atheism  and  Catholicism  and  all  the 
problems  we  have  on  our  field?'*  Equipment  is  an- 
other handicap  in  every  way.  One  of  the  Chilean 
universities  is  spending  $19,200,000  in  its  upbuilding, 
while  mission  schools  are  without  proper  staff  for 
doing  effective  religious  teaching.  Cooperation 
among  the  churches  would  aid  in  follow-up  work 
after  graduation,  when  students  go  home  away  from 
their  own  church  and  soon  revert  to  their  old  religious 
status  because  of  lack  of  Christian  nurture. 

Professor  Erasmo  Braga  of  the  Campinas  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  Brazil,  regarded  the  following  as  cor- 
rectives of  the  weaknesses  of  theological  training  in 
South  America.  A  proper  point  of  view  in  their  estab- 
lishment; correlation  between  the  seminaries  and  the 
national  system  of  education  in  order  to  secure  well- 
prepared  candidates;  a  correction  of  the  present 
method  of  recruiting  for  these  institutions,  so  that 


io6  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

men  whose  qualifications  are  merely  early  piety  and 
education  in  mission  schools  are  not  necessarily  to  be 
received  into  the  seminaries;  discouraging  induction 
into  the  ministry  of  short-cut  students  without  a 
thorough  secondary  and  college  training;  reduction  of 
the  number  of  so-called  seminaries  and  their  combina- 
tion into  single  union  institutions;  and  higher  stand- 
ards for  the  training  of  theological  students,  before 
and  after  entering  the  seminaries. 

The  Rev.  J.  F.  Goucher,  D.D.,  of  Baltimore,  argued 
for  interdenominational  cooperation  in  order  to  secure 
efficiency  and  the  financial  support  for  great  union  in- 
stitutions. When  Latin-American  governments  are 
providing  budgets  of  over  $300,000  annually  for 
single  universities,  it  is  futile  for  any  one  denomina- 
tion to  insist  on  establishing  or  supporting  feeble  in- 
stitutions of  no  great  influence  when  by  combination 
several  societies  could  have  one  strong  college  or  uni- 
versity, which  might  call  for  a  capital  of  twenty  mil- 
lions. The  Rev.  W.  H.  Rainey  of  Peru  seconded  Dr. 
Goucher *s  suggestion,  though  he  would  have  one  great 
Christian  university  for  all  Latin  America.  It  would 
need  to  be  interdenominational  for  a  higher  than  a 
financial  reason,  the  exemplification  of  unity  as 
superior  to  denominationalism.  Dr.  King  pleaded  for 
three  strong  Christian  universities,  when  speaking  for 
the  Commission.  In  general  the  great  educational  lack 
of  Latin  America  is  that  of  higher  education  for 
Christian  leadership,  so  that  medical  men,  for  instance, 
shall  not  far  surpass  in  technical  fitness  those  who 


LATIN  AMERICANS  AND  EDUCATION  107 

have  the  higher  task  of  the  cure  of  souls  and  the  up- 
building of  the  living  Church  of  God. 

Two  facts  that  particularly  impressed  Lord  Bryce 
during  his  travels  in  South  America  generalize  the  real 
problems  of  Missions  in  Latin  America.  *'If  one  re- 
gards these  various  nations  as  a  whole,"  he  writes, 
"one  is  struck  by  the  want  of  such  an  'atmosphere  of 
ideas,*  if  the  phrase  is  permissible,  as  that  which  men, 
breathe  in  western  Europe  and  in  North  America. 
Educated  men  are  few,  books  are  few,  there  is  little 
stir  of  thought,  little  play  of  cultivated  intelligence 
upon  the  problems  of  modern  society.  Most  of  these 
countries  seem  to  lie  far  away  from  the  stream  of 
intellectual  life,  hearing  only  its  distant  murmur.  The 
presence  of  a  great  inert  mass  of  ignorance  in  the 
native  population  partly  accounts  for  this;  and  one- 
must  remember  the  difficulty  of  providing  schools  and 
the  thinness  of  the  population  scattered  through  moun- 
tainous or  forest-covered  regions.  .  .  .  Another 
fact  strikes  the  traveler  with  surprise.  Both  the  in- 
tellectual life  and  the  ethical  standards  of  conduct  of 
these  countries  seem  to  be  entirely  divorced  from  re- 
ligion. The  women  are  almost  universally  'practicing' 
Catholics,  and  so  are  the  peasantry,  though  the  Chris- 
tianity of  the  Indians  bears  only  a  distant  resemblance 
to  that  of  Europe.  But  men  of  the  upper  or  educated 
class  appear  wholly  indifferent  to  theology  and  Chris- 
tian worship.  It  has  no  interest  for  them  .  .  . 
and  may  be  left  to  women  and  peasants.  The  Catholic 
revival  or  reaction  of  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 


io8  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

century  did  not  touch  Spanish  America,  which  is  still 
under  the  influence  of  the  anti-Catholic  current  of  the 
later  eighteenth." 

To  bring  to  these  republics  the  intelligence  without 
which  democratic  institutions  cannot  reach  their  ideals, 
to  impart  to  the  nascent  evangelical  communities  the 
Christian  knowledge  and  training  indispensable  for 
their  development  and  proper  leadership,  to  win  the 
intellectuals  to  allegiance  to  Him  who  is  not  only  the 
Truth  but  also  the  Life,  is  a  task  which  will  prove 
also  to  be  Kingdom-making  and  will  exalt  its  King. 


V 
LEAVES  FOR  THE  HEALING  OF  NATIONS 

Literature,  which  is  the  subject  investigated  and 
discussed  by  Commission  IV,  may  be  regarded  as  the 
corollary  of  education, — "a  proposition  following  so 
obviously  from  another  that  it  requires  little  or  no 
demonstration,"  as  a  mathematician  would  say.  For 
how  can  they  read  who  have  no  books  ?  Or  how  can 
the  evangelical  Church  be  built  up  without  the  aid  of 
a  varied  and  plenteous  supply  of  printed  material 
adapted  to  its  multitudinous  needs?  If  one  may  be 
pardoned  for  a  further  metaphor,  how  can  an  aggres- 
sive campaign  against  ignorance  and  misinformation 
be  carried  on  without  ammunition?  a  figure  used 
effectively  by  Secretary  Swift  of  the  American  Tract 
Society,  who  reminded  the  Congress  that  missions  in 
Latin  America  had  reached  the  munitions  stage. 

As  its  value  may  be  questioned  in  lands  of  Iberian 
culture,  a  quotation  from  Dr.  Ritson,  Secretary  of  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  and  a  vice-chairman 
of  the  Commission,  will  supply  the  argument  for  em- 
phasizing it  in  Latin  America,  as  well  as  in  other  coun- 
tries similarly  conditioned  concerning  which  he 
primarily  wrote:  ^'Whatever  be  the  means  adopted 
for  the   evangelization   and   Christianization   of   the 

109 


no  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

human  race,  Christian  Hterature  is  a  factor  to  be 
reckoned  with.  One  of  the  most  urgent  requirements 
of  the  Church  in  the  mission  field  is  a  native  ministry 
with  spiritual  fitness  and  intellectual  equipment  for 
leadership.  In  many  lands  we  have  done  little  more 
than  place  the  Bible  in  the  hands  of  evangelists  and 
teachers  and  pastors  in  their  mother  tongue.  That  is 
the  first  and  supreme  gift,  but  it  is  our  duty  to  give 
more.  The  men  upon  whom  devolves  leadership  in 
the  indigenous  Church  are  dealing  with  spiritual 
truths  that  are  new  to  them  and  have  not  been  trained 
to  think.  Is  it  right  to  leave  them  to  begin  de  novo? 
In  the  historic  Church  there  has  been  a  progressive 
interpretation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  it  is  our 
duty  to  give  the  missionary  Church  the  benefit  of  that 
Christian  scholarship  which  has  been  ripening,  and  of 
that  wealth  of  Christian  experience  which  has  been 
accumulating  through  the  centuries.  By  providing  a 
Christian  literature  ...  we  may  share  with  it 
those  blessings  which  we  ourselves  have  secured  only 
through  blood  and  tears. 

"But  the  training  for  the  ministry  is  only  one  aspect 
of  the  case.  Almost  every  missionary  Society  has  its 
educational  policy,  and  is  spending  tens  of  thousands 
of  pounds  on  schools  and  colleges,  and  is  devoting  the 
lives  of  many  of  its  best  and  ablest  servants  to  the 
task  of  teaching.  .  .  .  Our  students  must  read. 
They  find  ready  at  hand  a  vast  amount  of  materialis- 
tic and  poisonous  literature  turned  out  from  publishing 
houses,     .     .     .     and   unless  we  provide   something 


LEAVES  FOR  THE  HEALING  OF  NATIONS      in 

better  they  will  read  that  which  will  undermine  their 
spiritual  and  moral  life  and  ruin  them  body  and  soul. 
Has  a  missionary  Society  which  takes  no  responsibility 
in  providing  healthy  Christian  literature  any  right  to 
educate  ? 

''Again,  the  power  of  the  printed  page  as  an  evan- 
gelist .  .  .  has  not  yet  been  realized.  It  is 
obvious  that  it  is  not  a  substitute  for  the  missionary. 
The  personal  factor,  the  living  voice,  can  never  be  re- 
placed and  has  an  influence  all  its  own.  But  the 
printed  page  has  some  advantages :  it  can  be  read  and 
re-read  and  pondered  over ;  it  can  reach  a  vastly  larger 
congregation  than  is  to  be  found  within  the  walls 
of  the  sanctuary ;  it  can  accompany  the  hospital  patient 
to  his  home  ...  ;  it  can  travel  forth  as  a  pioneer 
where  the  climate  is  deadly  and  the  population  is 
sparse  and  conditions  are  unfriendly  and  hostile.  The 
printed  page  alone  is  the  ubiquitous  missionary.  In 
evangelizing  by  means  of  literature  we  are  following 
the  Great  Exemplar,  who  chose  as  the  medium  of 
revelation  a  Book  as  well  as  a  Church." 

It  was  most  fitting  that  this  particular  Commission 
should  have  had  as  its  Chairman  Professor  Andres 
Osuna,  a  Latin  American  of  such  distinguished  ability, 
not  only  as  a  literary  man  but  also  as  an  educator, 
that  the  Mexicans  had  just  chosen  him  as  Commis- 
sioner of  Education  of  the  Federal  District.  While 
this  prevented  his  being  present  at  Panama,  he  was 
happily  substituted  for  by  Dr.  Winton,  whose  work  in 
literary  lines,  both  as  a  Mexican  missionary  and  as 


TI2  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

an  editor  of  his  own  Church,  the  Methodist  Episcopal, 
South,  made  his  presentations  authoritative.  Only  one 
session  was  devoted  to  the  theme. 

Evangelical  missions  center  their  work  about  the 
Bible,  which  has  been  a  closed  volume  to  the  masses 
of  the  Roman  Church;  hence  it  was  made  prominent 
in  the  Commission's  report.  Of  the  Protestant  ver- 
sions that  of  Cipriano  de  Valera,  a  converted  Roman 
-Catholic  monk  who  escaped  to  England  where  he  mar- 
ried an  English  lady  and  gained  his  degree  at  Cam- 
bridge, is  in  Spanish  literature  what  King  James's  is 
to  the  English  versions.  It  is  a  revision  of  the  Bible 
translated  by  Cassiodoro  de  Reina,  a  Spanish  reformer 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  Valera  spent  the  last  twenty 
years  of  his  life  upon  the  work,  publishing  it  in  1596, 
fifteen  years  before  our  Authorized  Version  appeared. 
Delgado  de  Vargas,  a  special  delegate  to  the  Congress 
from  Spain,  cited  Father  Scio's  estimate,  found  in  the 
introduction  to  his  Vulgate  version,  who  asserted  that 
it  was  one  of  the  purest  and  best  productions  of 
Spanish  literature.  Senor  de  Vargas  added  that 
Valera's  translation  in  Spain  is  regarded  as  the  best 
example  of  classical  Spanish  after  Cervantes'  "Don 
Quixote."  For  some  years  a  company  of  English, 
American,  Mexican  and  Spanish  scholars  have  been  at 
work  in  Madrid  preparing  a  version  that  will  be  a  z'ia 
media  between  the  literal  interpretation  of  the  accepted 
texts,  which  by  their  ruggedness  grip  the  conscience 
and  stimulate  spiritual  meditation,  and  a  rendition  into 
pure  literary  Spanish,  enabled  by  its  inherent  charms 


LEAVES  FOR  THE  HEALING  OF  NATIONS      113 

to  win  an  affectionate  reading  by  lovers  of  Castilian. 
The  revisers  have  just  completed  the  New  Testament. 

Joao  Ferreira  d' Almeida,  who  began  as  a  boy  of 
fifteen  to  translate  the  Scriptures  and  who  was  con- 
verted from  Catholicism,  was  the  first  person  to  com- 
plete the  entire  translation  of  the  Portuguese  New 
Testament  from  the  originals.  His  death  in  1691 
prevented  his  completing  the  Old  Testament,  but 
other  scholars  finished  it  in  1753.  It  was  followed  in 
1781-83  by  a  Roman  Catholic  Portuguese  version  of 
the  Vulgate,  with  occasional  use  of  the  Greek  text, 
which  was  published  in  twenty-three  volumes.  Prot- 
estant missionaries  in  Brazil  have  been  working  for 
more  than  a  decade  upon  a  new  version,  of  which  the 
New  Testament  has  already  been  published  and  the 
Old  Testament  is  nearing  completion. 

The  Romanists  have  published  versions  of  the  Vul- 
gate in  Spain  and  also  in  Mexico.  The  best  ones  ap- 
pear in  from  nineteen  to  twenty-five  volumes,  and  the 
cost  is  prohibitive  even  to  some  priests.  Brazilian 
ecclesiastics  have  formed  an  organization  known  as 
the  Jerome  Society  which  has  recently  issued  the 
Gospel  in  Portuguese.  This  has  been  a  by-product, 
apparently,  of  evangelical  missions.  Dr.  Tucker  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro  told  the  delegates  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
Congress  in  Brazil  some  time  ago  which  discussed 
the  question,  "What  shall  we  do  in  the  face  of  the 
Protestant  propaganda  of  the  Bible  ?"  and  answered  it 
by  the  decision  to  go  into  the  work  of  translating. 
In  Sarmiento's  translation  of  Carriere's  French  para- 


114  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

phrase  of  the  Book  of  Acts,  the  Cardinal  Archbishop 
of  Rio  explains  by  way  of  preface :  *'At  the  moment 
in  which  we  write  these  words  of  approval  and  apology 
of  the  work  of  popularizing  the  reading  of  the  Holy 
Gospels,  we  judge  it  convenient  to  make  it  very  clear 
that  this  our  attitude  can  never  be  confounded  with  the 
propaganda  that  our  separated  brethren,  the  Protes- 
tants, are  actively  making."  Later  he  says:  "We 
trust  the  future  clergy  may  be  trained  in  this  school, 
that  our  seminary  students  may  know  this  treasure 
and  may  familiarize  themselves  with  this  divine  Book, 
that  every  one  of  them  may  possess  a  copy  of  the 
Holy  Gospels."  It  is  a  privilege  to  have  awakened 
in  part  this  interest  in  the  Scriptures,  thus  aiding  the 
Romanists  toward  the  accomplishment  of  a  main  pur- 
pose of  Latin-American  missionary  enterprise. 

Other  literature  required  for  promoting  the  evan- 
gelical cause  is  varied,  but  one  primary  necessity  is  for 
commentaries  and  other  works  making  the  purpose, 
meaning  and  contents  of  the  Bible  clear.  One  of  the 
two  grounds  of  objection  by  Romanists  to  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Bible  into  Latin  America  is  that 
ignorant  people  ought  not  to  be  trusted  with  the 
Scriptures  in  the  vernacular.  Hence  the  new  versions 
of  their  own  are  accompanied  with  annotations  to 
prevent  erroneous  beliefs  from  being  derived  from 
them.  Surely  commentaries  are  now  all  the  more 
desirable  that  readers  may  know  how  devout  scholars 
and  divines  of  evangelical  Churches  understand  the 
sacred  texts.    Such  explanatory  books  will  be  to  read- 


LEAVES  FOR  THE  HEALING  OF  NATIONS      113 

ers  what  the  Gospels  and  the  colporteurs  are  to  the 
common  people,  "introductions  to  Jesus  Christ,"  which 
others  than  the  little  Bolivian  girl  so  long  for.  Mr. 
Stark  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  told 
how  this  child  came  early  one  morning  to  a  colpor- 
teur's room  pleading  with  him  in  these  words:  "O, 
sir,  will  you  give  me  an  introduction  to  Jesus  Christ? 
I  am  so  often  hungry  and  cold,  and  my  mother  is 
cruel,  and  I  have  none  to  love  me." 

Such  introductory  literature  will  serve  another  pur- 
pose also.  Senorita  Palacios  of  Mexico  City  indicated 
to  the  Congress  its  value  through  this  illustration :  '1 
was  talking  with  the  president  of  the  University  of 
Puebla  about  the  Word  of  God,  and  he  said:  'Don't 
you  know  the  Bible  is  a  book  that  I  would  never  put 
in  the  hands  of  my  daughters  ?'  I  thought  he  would  go 
on  to  speak  about  the  historical  difficulties;  but  when 
I  asked,  *Why  do  you  say  that?'  he  said:  'You  know 
the  Psalms  are  very  immoral;  they  teach  vengeance, 
and  I  do  not  put  them  in  the  hands  of  my  daughters.' 
Now  you  see  that  the  Old  Testament  cannot  be  under- 
stood as  we  understand  it,  unless  there  has  been  some 
preparation  for  the  use  of  it.  Therefore  we  should 
not  put  Old  Testament  stories  into  the  hands  of  per- 
sons who  have  not  had  that  preparation."  Seiior 
Elphick  of  Chile  also  warned  workers  against  using 
the  Old  Testament  without  a  New  Testament  prep- 
aration, as  it  proves  too  often  a  stumbling-block.  The 
story  of  Jesus  should  be  the  beginning  of  instruction, 
and  it  should  be  made  attractive  by  beautiful  pictures. 


Ii6  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

For  thoughtful  readers,  especially  students,  Dr.  Teeter, 
of  Chile,  advised  such  books  as  President  King's 
'^Ethics  of  Jesus,'*  which  should  be  translated  among 
the  first  of  this  class. 

The  Commission  reported  that  the  present  list  of 
usable  literature  was  limited,  though  its  second  Ap- 
pendix gave  figures  which  showed  that  some  hundreds 
of  books  and  tracts  have  been  published  in  the  last 
ten  years.  Biographies  were  almost  wholly  lacking, 
according  to  Mr.  Ewing  of  Buenos  Aires.  Periodicals 
are  too  numerous  and  too  weak  to  command  respect, 
with  rare  exceptions.  If  Societies  would  combine  and 
publish  union  periodicals,  with  denominational  supple- 
ments when  desirable,  much  more  would  be  accom- 
plished for  the  cause.  Miss  Clementina  Butler  out- 
lined a  scheme  of  such  cooperation,  which,  supple- 
mented by  subventions  for  a  few  years,  would  prob- 
ably provide  a  syndicated  periodical  that  would  be 
both  popular  and  helpful,  though  without  a  denomina- 
tional or  even  a  Protestant  name. 

The  Commission,  and  delegates  also,  described  the 
sort  of  literature  that  was  especially  desirable  in  Latin 
America.  Negatively,  Mr.  Revell  suggested  that  books 
of  sermons  were  not  listed  among  "the  six  best  sellers" 
in  North  America,  but  that  they  seemed  to  be  char- 
acteristic of  Latin-American  evangelical  literature.  Dr. 
Howland  deprecated  as  a  "pernicious  thing,"  "homi- 
letical-review-ready-made  sermons  or  outlines,"  which 
tend  to  laziness  and  dishonesty.  Dr.  Teeter  objected 
to  books  that  were  denominational  when  intended  for 


LEAVES  FOR  THE  HEALING  OF  NATIONS      117 

general  use,  instancing  a  volume  which  he,  a  Meth- 
odist, was  using  for  an  interdenominational  group  and 
which  contained  a  chapter  pointing  out  the  errors 
of  Presbyterians,  several  of  whom  were  members  of 
the  class.  He  also  deprecated  the  translation  and  pub- 
lication of  books  discussing  problems  of  a  century 
ago.  A  number  disapproved  of  certain  publications 
which  were  controversial  to  the  point  of  bitterness. 
Literature  written  in  faulty  Spanish  or  Portuguese  was 
especially  criticised,  the  Rev.  A.  Trevino  advising  mis- 
sionaries not  to  write  Spanish  half  in  English.  Even 
more  harmful  than  defects  in  language  and  style  is 
pettiness  in  thought,  which  the  Commission  asserted 
helped  to  breed  skepticism. 

Looking  at  the  question  from  a  positive  viewpoint, 
literature  of  Latin-American  rather  than  of  European 
and  'North  American  authorship  was  required.  Iberian 
peoples  dislike  the  plain  and  unpretentious  use  of  their 
native  tongues.  But  more  subtle  than  the  charm  of 
their  own  mellifluous  utterance  is  the  ministry  to  the 
temperament  and  spirit  of  races  of  Latin  lineage  in  a 
manner  that  will  satisfy  their  peculiarities  and  pre- 
dispositions, a  service  that  none  can  perform  so  well 
as  members  of  those  races.  As  a  correspondent  of 
the  Commission  truly  says :  "Much  of  our  literature 
is  of  little  value  for  initial  propaganda,  as  it  depends 
for  its  appeal  so  wholly  on  acceptance  of  biblical 
authority.  Our  whole  evangelical  scheme,  as  we  have 
been  presenting  it,  is  too  much  a  logical  argument 
from  premises  which  are  unacceptable  to  those  who 


ii8  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

hear  or  read."  A  Spanish  or  Portuguese  writer  would 
not  be  Hkely  to  err  in  such  particulars.  He  would 
avoid  the  unadorned  and  homely  style  of  missionary 
authors  which  is  an  acknowledged  cause  of  empty 
evangelical  churches  and  of  ineffective  tracts  and 
books,  and  which  prevents  those  of  real  merit  from 
gaining  a  reading. 

If  Latin-American  authorship  is  to  be  the  policy  in 
producing  evangelical  literature  in  the  future,  we 
must  face  the  problem  of  securing  competent  national 
writers  within  the  evangelical  Churches  of  Latin 
America.  Many  leading  Christians  are  not  qualified 
for  such  work,  and  the  few  who  are  possessed  of  the 
requisite  literary  gifts  are  so  heavily  burdened  already 
that  they  cannot  take  on  additional  tasks.  It  is  mani- 
festly desirable  to  train  some  of  the  younger  Latins 
for  such  writing.  It  was  proposed  that  promising 
young  men  be  given  the  requisite  opportunity  for 
perfecting  their  gifts  and  thus  be  enabled  to  prepare 
literature.  Dr.  Mott  suggested  the  desirability  of  fol- 
lowing some  such  plan  as  Japan  has  recently  adopted. 
One  of  the  finest  minds  of  that  Empire  has  been  set 
apart  to  prepare  a  life  of  Jesus  Christ  which  shall  be 
a  Japanese  interpretation  of  the  Master.  He  is  now  in 
Oxford  University,  studying  under  Dr.  Sanday.  With 
a  Japanese  heart  and  superb  abilities  as  a  writer  in  his 
own  language,  he  will  emerge  from  his  British  isola- 
tion and  profound  studies  to  produce  an  interpreta- 
tion that  will  do  much  to  win  Japan  to  Jesus.  But 
where  this  is  impossible,  Bishop  Colmore's  advice  was 


LEAVES   FOR  THE  HEALING  OF  NATIONS      119 

to  give  men  of  literary  promise  a  broad  education, 
preferably  in  England  or  the  United  States,  and  after 
thus  filling  them  with  great  ideas  upon  important  sub- 
jects, ask  them  to  write  out  of  their  very  selves,  with 
all  the  powers  of  a  Spanish  or  Portuguese  literary 
man,  some  vital  message  to  their  own  people.  There 
was  a  general  feeling  that  if  translations  for  a  time 
must  be  depended  upon,  they  should  be  something 
more  than  "transliterations  from  English  into 
Spanish,"  to  quote  the  Bishop's  words. 

For  men  thus  prepared  either  for  translating  or 
for  original  work,  a  variety  of  books  and  leaflets  is 
waiting  to  be  written.  While  controversy  is  to  be 
avoided  when  possible,  it  must  not  be  left  unprovided 
for.  Writers  in  this  department  should  be  wholly 
conversant  with  the  viewpoint  and  teachings  of 
Roman  Catholic  authorities,  as  too  many  missionary 
authors  are  not.  The  Roman  system  of  today  is  the 
carefully  thought  out  product  of  many  of  the  greatest 
intellects  of  the  past,  and  hence  cannot  be  met  with- 
out full  preparation.  In  this  realm  the  primary  aim 
should  be  to  establish  the  truth  and  only  secondarily 
to  combat  error. 

Books  for  Christian  nurture  are  needed.  The  two 
antipodal  types  of  men  to  be  ministered  unto  are  the 
intelligent,  educated  thinkers  who  are  being  drawn 
into  a  barren  and  lifeless  materialism,  and  those  who 
tend  toward  crass  superstition.  The  latter  class  is 
not  wholly  made  up  of  ignorant  people  of  little  learn- 
ing.    Many  educated  men  are  the  prey  of  Spiritism 


120  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

and  kindred  delusions,  a  reaction  against  the  unsatis- 
fying materialistic  philosophy  so  prevalent  in  Latin 
America.  Books  on  the  following  subjects  clamor 
to  be  written:  "The  Message  of  Evangelical  Chris- 
tianity," "The  Essentials  of  Religion  as  Found  in  the 
Bible,"  "Helps  to  the  Devotional  Reading  of  the 
Bible,"  "The  Nature  of  Church  Authority"  and 
"Helps  to  Character  Building." 

General  literature  is  lacking  in  clean,  high-class 
novels  and  other  popular  books,  greatly  needed  to 
counteract  the  baneful  influence  of  objectionable  and 
even  pornographic  literature.  A  number  of  whole- 
some short  stories  have  been  translated  already  into 
Spanish  and  are  favorably  received.  Books  for  boys 
and  still  others  for  girls  are  a  desideratum  also. 

The  Commission's  report  emphasizes  the  need  for  a 
far  better  hymnology  than  the  evangelical  Church  now 
possesses.  It  is  deplorably  weak  in  this  realm  which 
so  appeals  to  music-loving  Latin  America.  Dr.  Win- 
ton,  in  his  closing  address,  explained  the  technical 
weakness  of  our  present  hymnology  and  pleaded  for 
indigenous  hymns  and  for  a  music  that  can  be  wxdded 
happily  to  the  words.  When  the  union  hymn-book 
so  much  desired  is  thus  prepared,  the  Church  will 
advance  on  the  wings  of  song. 

Tracts  and  leaflets  which  are  so  discounted  in  the 
United  States  have  their  use  and  are  appreciated  in 
Latin  Amxerica.  In  most  of  its  republics  reading  mat- 
ter is  still  scarce,  and  well  edited  leaflets  and  bright 
tracts  are  at  a  premium,  especially  when  well  illus- 


LEAVES  FOR  THE  HEALING  OF  NATIONS      121 

trated.  As  a  great  majority  of  the  people  are  ignorant 
of  the  simplest  gospel  truths,  these  tracts  should  meet 
that  need  sympathetically  and  fairly.  When  the  in- 
spiration for  writing  it  springs  from  actual  experiences 
of  a  vital  sort,  the  tract  is  far  more  likely  to  be 
vigorous,  well-timed  and  effective  than  when  it  is  writ- 
ten in  cold  blood  in  recognition  of  a  general  need. 
Atheism,  Mormonism  and  Spiritism  call  for  special 
tracts  and  leaflets. 

Sunday-school  literature  was  wisely  emphasized. 
The  chairman  of  the  Commission,  realizing  the  need 
of  his  countrymen,  has  been  instrumental  in  preparing 
graded  lessons  that  promise  to  meet  the  demands  of 
the  new  religious  education.  The  Presbyterians, 
M'ethodists  and  Disciples  of  Mexico  have  cooperated 
in  publishing  graded  lessons  for  children  under  thir- 
teen. Manuals  for  teachers  will  also  be  published 
cooperatively.  There  is  already  on  foot  a  plan  for 
similar  publications  in  Portuguese. 

In  the  Congress  session  the  agents  so  indispensable 
for  bringing  evangelical  literature  into  the  homes  and 
lives  of  the  people  were  eulogized.  The  Rev.  W.  H. 
Rainey,  the  Peruvian  representative  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society,  is  one  such  eulogist.  "The 
colporteur,"  he  said,  "is  not  simply  a  book-hawker,  not 
simply  a  commercial  agent.  If  he  were,  it  would  not 
be  dishonorable.  But  he  goes  as  a  pioneer  evangelist, 
a  scout  of  the  great  militant  Church  of  Jesus  Christ. 
.  .  .  Colporteurs  cooperate  with  the  missionary. 
They  go  to  a  town  and  visit  every  house.    They  find 


122  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

those  who  are  interested  and  give  a  Hst  of  the  names 
to  the  nearest  pastor.  Sometimes  they  call  the  people 
together  and  preach  to  them,  so  that  when  the  pastor 
comes,  he  finds  the  church  waiting  for  him  to  organ- 
ize. .  .  .  He  must  work  alone  a  great  deal  of 
the  time ;  he  must  travel  the  dusty  roads  in  the  broiling 
sun;  he  must  climb  the  mountains;  he  must  go  down 
the  river  in  boats,  tormented  by  mosquitoes;  he  bears 
the  burden  and  the  heat  of  the  day  that  your  way 
may  be  made  more  easy.  Therefore  we  appeal  to  you, 
especially  you  native  pastors,  to  recognize  the  col- 
porteur's work  as  true  evangelical  work  and  the  col- 
porteur himself  as  a  true  and  sincere  evangelist  and 
missionary." 

This  Commission's  report,  even  more  than  those  pre- 
ceding it,  reiterated  again  and  again  the  vast  oppor- 
tunities and  the  urgent  need  for  cooperation,  if  the 
evangelical  cause  is  to  avail  itself  of  the  best  talent 
and  is  to  receive  the  financial  support  demanded  in 
order  to  make  literature  the  powerful,  saving  factor 
that  God  intends  it  to  become.  At  least  nine  Boards 
or  Societies  are  now  preparing  and  publishing  litera- 
ture for  Latin  America,  with  much  waste  of  money 
and  force.  When  the  plan  outlined  by  Commission 
IV  in  its  Appendix  C  materializes,  or  something  even 
better,  efficiency  and  unity  will  be  the  gainers  and  the 
leaves  of  healing  will  bless  still  more  the  life  of  Latin- 
American  nations. 


CHILDREN  WHO  NEED  A  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 
SUNDAY  SCHOOL,  BRAZIL 


VI 
THE  UPBUILDING  OF  WOMANHOOD 

A  new  thing  under  the  missionary  sun  was  the  ap- 
pointment of  Commission  V  on  ^'Women's  Work," 
with  the  same  powers  and  standing  as  the  other  seven 
commissions.  This  differentiates  the  Panama  Con- 
gress from  all  other  formal  international  conferences 
of  note,  although  in  smaller  gatherings  of  missionaries 
the  women  had  been  represented  and  had  borne  an 
honored  and  helpful  part.  Being  without  precedents, 
Miss  Belle  H.  Bennett  and  Mrs.  Ida  W.  Harrison, 
LL.D.,  the  Commission's  chairman  and  vice-chairman, 
led  on  their  company  of  twenty-five  other  women  and 
their  corps  of  eighty  correspondents  in  a  successful 
advance-guard  movement.  Up  to  this  point,  the  re- 
ports had  been  excellent  specimens  of  expert  investiga- 
tion, with  only  a  minimum  suggestion  of  any  real 
human  life  behind  the  subjects  discussed.  This  one 
was  in  refreshing  contrast,  in  that  it  was  full  of  con- 
crete material  dealing  with  a  theme  which  always 
makes  its  strong  appeal. 

Latin-American  literature  is  almost  entirely  lacking 
in  any  full  account  of  its  womanhood ;  hence  the  Com- 
mission presented  an  appraisal  of  the  girls  and  women 
whose  cause  it  championed,  mainly  in  the  words  of 
competent  writers  upon  those  republics.    Only  broad 

123 


124  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

generalizations  were  possible,  and  they  were  grouped 
under  four  headings,  the  higher,  the  middle  and  the 
lower  class  women  and  the  Indians. 

Of  the  higher  classes,  Albert  Hale  writes, — though 
he  includes  others  than  these  women:  "You  cannot 
travel  through  South  America  without  finding  an  ap- 
preciation of  art,  education  and  good  manners; 
boorishness  is  practically  unknown;  kindliness,  cour- 
tesy and  breeding  characterize  the  people."  M.  Georges 
Clemenceau,  ex-Premier  of  France,  says  of  these 
women :  "The  family  tie  appears  to  be  stronger  than, 
perhaps,  in  any  other  land.  .  .  .  The  rich  .  .  . 
take  pleasure  in  having  large  families.  .  .  .  The 
greatest  affection  prevails  and  the  greatest  devotion  to 
the  parent  roof -tree.  .  .  .  The  women  .  .  . 
enjoy  a  reputation,  that  seems  well  justified,  of  being 
extremely  virtuous.  ...  In  their  role  of  faithful 
guardians  of  the  hearth,  they  have  been  able  to  silence 
calumny  and  inspire  universal  respect  by  the  purity 
and  dignity  of  their  life."  Professor  E.  A.  Ross 
asserts  that  in  "the  higher  classes  of  tropical  South 
America,  the  women  are  distinctly  brighter  than  the 
men,"  and  that  on  the  West  Coast  they  have  "more 
character."  He  attributes  this  to  the  early  immorality 
of  the  men,  which  affects  unfavorably  both  body  and 
mind.  Of  the  high-born  Mexican  women,  Nevin  O. 
Winter  writes :  "They  are  sympathetic  to  an  extreme. 
They  are  almost  invariably  watchful  for  the  needs  of 
their  poor  relations  and  are  everywhere  supporting 
numerous  charities." 


THE  UPBUILDING  OF  WOMANHOOD  125 

While  it  is  difficult  to  describe  women  of  the  middle 
class  when  it  is  only  now  emerging,  the  report  in- 
cludes in  it  all  grades  of  women  employed  in  the  busi- 
ness world,  trades  and  teachers  of  every  sort.  In 
Brazil  and  Argentina  that  class  for  the  most  part  helps 
to  solve  the  new  problems  of  womanhood.  In  Chile 
they  have  placed  emphasis  upon  the  dignity  of  labor 
and  have  aided  in  introducing  foreign  ideals.  Peruvian 
women  of  the  middle  class  are  looked  upon  with  dis- 
dain, and  even  women  teachers  have  little  social  stand- 
ing. Though  woman's  day  has  not  yet  dawned  in 
Bolivia,  Ecuador  and  Colombia,  in  Mexico  it  has  al- 
ready shone  upon  many  women,  which  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  of  the  times,  a 
Mexican  leader  saying,  "The  highest  moral  develop- 
ment is  to  come  from  the  middle  class."  The  Com- 
mission quotes  as  equally  applicable  to  these  women 
what  was  said  of  Orientals  in  the  Continuation  Com- 
mittee Conference  findings:  "The  walls  which 
guarded  the  young  girl  are  being  demolished  rapidly, 
and  the  spiritual  walls  which  can  protect  her  purity 
and  peace  are  rising  only  slowly.  The  girls  who  leave 
Christian  schools  and  homes  to  enter  these  new  condi- 
tions must  know  more  than  their  mothers  did,  must 
have  more  poise  and  self-control,  and  above  all  they 
must  have  the  spiritual  power  of  the  indwelling  Christ 
and  the  sense  of  a  divine  call  to  service." 

Women  of  the  lower  class  make  the  strongest  ap- 
peal. These  are  picturesque  sketches  of  them  by  Pro- 
fessor Ross  and  Miss  Florence  Smith  of  Chile.    "One 


126  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

woman,  bent  under  a  burden,  carries  a  child  at  the 
breast,  and  is  soon  to  become  again  a  mother.  An- 
other laden  woman  plies  distaff  and  spindle  as  she 
creeps  along.  Here  is  a  file  of  barefoot  women  bent 
under  loads  of  earth  or  brick,  escorted  by  a  man  with 
a  whip."  Miss  Smith  writes  of  Colombian  women  as 
they  work  with  pickax  or  shovel  on  the  highway,  or 
stagger  under  burdens  too  heavy  to  be  borne, — of  the 
mothers  of  the  40,767  babies  who  died  in  Chile  alone 
in  1909,  less  than  a  year  old,  because  of  alcoholism 
and  unhygienic  conditions.  She  pleads  for  the  poor 
fallen  girls,  so  numerous  in  all  the  republics.  *'Im- 
moral?  Perhaps,  as  we  count  immorality.  But  who 
of  us  dares  to  say  that,  given  their  heritage,  their 
ignorance,  their  temptations,  we  should  not  have  sunk 
so  low?  Listen:  *I  was  only  fourteen.  I  knew 
nothing ;  my  mother  sold  me.*  'The  times  were  hard ; 
I  had  no  work  and  a  sick  sister  to  feed.'  'I  was  an 
orphan;  my  aunt  tired  of  me  and  connived  with  an 
evil  woman  who  caused  me  to  be  drugged.*  'My  own 
father  seduced  me.'  "  So  runs  on  and  on  the  heart- 
moving  dirge.  The  dark  cloud  has  its  silver  lining, 
however.  These  lower  class  women  have  strong 
natural  affections,  both  for  their  families  and  for  their 
friends.  Filial  love  is  universal  so  that  elderly  and 
married  women  obey  their  mothers  as  in  childhood. 
Children  upon  meeting  or  leaving  father  or  mother 
kiss  them  upon  either  the  hand  or  the  forehead. 

So   far  as  the  Commission's  report  goes,   Indian 
women  of  this  lower  stratum  do  not  fare  any  worse 


THE  UPBUILDING  OF  WOMANHOOD  127 

than  those  just  described;  indeed,  they  are  more  free 
and  less  degraded  among  the  higher  tribes,  descendants 
of  the  Incas  and  Aztecs.  A  Mexican  correspondent 
says  that  Indian  women  there  live  in  villages  by  them- 
selves and  cultivate  their  little  plots  of  ground;  they 
carry  their  flowers,  fruit  and  vegetables  to  the  city 
and  sell  them  on  the  streets  or  in  the  markets.  These 
daughters  of  the  Aztecs  weave  blankets,  make  pottery 
and  still  offer  for  sale  feather  work  like  that  for  which 
their  ancestors  were  famous.  In  Bolivia  the  Indian 
women  are  on  the  plane  of  their  husbands,  not  hav- 
ing a  lord  and  master  as  in  North  America  and  not 
suffering  from  loose  marriage  bonds.  Indian  girls 
from  the  mountains  of  Peru  often  show  exceptional 
artistic  ability  and  develop  original  decorative  motives 
from  nature  forms.  Among  the  Mapuche  Indians  of 
Chile  there  is  a  woman  priesthood,  according  to  Rev. 
Alan  Ewbank,  and  the  witch-doctor  is  a  woman.  If 
a  man  aspires  to  become  a  witch-doctor,  he  must 
assume  the  dress  of  a  woman.  But  the  woe  of  it  is 
that  probably  five  millions  of  these  Indian  women  are 
without  anything  except  the  faintest  idea  of  their 
Heavenly  Father  and  Savior,  if  they  have  heard  even 
their  names. 

Forty  millions  of  women  and  girls  such  as  have 
been  described  constitute  the  Latin-American  parish 
of  Commission  V.  While  the  challenge  of  their 
needs  reached  the  ears  of  Mrs.  Mary  Hartmann  in 
1848,  when  her  husband  died,  and  she  began  that 
heroic  and  saintly  ministry  to  the  bush  negroes  of 


128  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Dutch  Guiana,  where  she  maintained  a  Christian  sta- 
tion immured  in  a  wilderness  of  heathenism,  to  Miss 
MeHnda  Rankin  falls  the  honor  of  pioneering  woman's 
work  in  Mexico.  Having  been  moved  by  the  stories 
of  conditions  there  from  returned  Mexican  War 
soldiers,  she  created  sentiment  and  in  1850  started  a 
school  for  Mexican  children  at  Brownsville  on  the  Rio 
Grande.  In  addition  to  teaching,  she  visited  the 
Mexicans  among  whom  she  distributed  Bibles,  which 
soon  crossed  the  river  to  Matamoras  where  they  were 
gladly  received.  In  1857,  when  religious  liberty  was 
declared  in  Mexico,  she  went  over  to  that  city  and 
later  worked  in  Monterey.  In  this  difficult  field  she 
labored  on  with  singular  devotion,  until  broken  health 
forced  her  to  relinquish  her  work  in  1871.  Her  task 
was  that  of  a  teacher  and  a  distributor  of  Bibles ;  yet 
under  her  supervision,  her  pupils  established  and 
ministered  to  fourteen  congregations  which  were  taken 
over  later  by  the  Presbyterians. 

Miss  Rankin  laid  down  three  principles  at  that  early 
stage  of  Latin- American  work  which  are  worthy  of 
remembrance.  She  wrote :  *'I  believe  it  wise,  as  far 
as  possible,  to  avoid  exciting  prejudices  in  our  labors 
among  Roman  Catholics.  ...  It  has  been  a  fixed 
principle  with  me  not  to  attack  their  religion,  but  to 
present  the  truth  and  let  that  do  its  work.  .  .  . 
If  you  wish  to  enlighten  a  room,  you  carry  a  light  and 
set  it  down  in  it,  and  the  darkness  will  disperse  of 
itself."  Another  of  her  dicta  was  this:  *'Mexico 
should  become  evangelized  mainly  through  the  instru- 


THE  UPBUILDING  OF  WOMANHOOD  129 

mentality  of  Mexicans  themselves;  yet  they  need  to  be 
guided  into  the  best  manner  of  working."  She  fur- 
ther aimed  to  make  her  work  undenominational,  so 
as  not  to  perpetuate  the  divisions  of  the  Church  at 
home  in  this  new  territory  and  to  avoid  confusing  the 
people  with  doctrinal  distinctions  about  which  they 
knew  nothing.  Other  women  pioneers  in  the  Com- 
mission's Hall  of  Fame  are  Miss  Martha  Watts  of 
Brazil  and  Mrs.  Frances  Hamilton  of  Mexico,  two 
rare  workers. 

Education  of  various  sorts  is  a  strategic  method 
very  commonly  employed  by  the  women  missionaries. 
Here  a  strong  argument  for  kindergartens  was 
entered  in  opposition  to  the  report  of  the  Commission 
on  Education,  and  despite  government  competition. 
They  are  invaluable  because  by  simple  plays  and  songs 
they  teach  the  value  of  work,  the  ideals  of  purity,  un- 
selfishness, morality  and  truth — the  very  elements  of 
Christian  character.  An  experienced  Mexican  mis- 
sionary argues  for  them  thus:  "For  the  improve- 
ment of  the  education  of  the  children,  American 
kindergarten  methods  are  greatly  in  demand.  As  a 
people  the  Mexicans  are  musical,  and  the  children  re- 
spond readily  to  the  songs  and  games.  The  admirable 
devotion  of  the  people  to  their  children  makes  them 
appreciate  such  opportunities  when  afforded  by  the 
missions.  Possibly  there  is  no  better  way  of  break- 
ing down  prejudice  than  through  the  kindergarten 
under  missionary  auspices."  Day  nurseries  for  little 
children  are  also  greatly  appreciated,  especially  when 


130  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

one  recalls  how  many  of  them  are  illegitimate  with 
no  father  to  relieve  the  mother's  burden  of  daily 
earning  her  child's  support. 

The  mission  normal  institution  is  most  valuable, 
both  because  caste  is  less  evident  there  and  because 
teachers  in  evangelical  schools  should  be  either  earnest 
Christians  or  trained  in  an  evangelical  atmosphere.  In 
191 3  Dr.  Browning  reported  forty -two  schools  and 
three  thousand  six  hundred  and  ten  students  of  this 
grade.  Among  the  notable  secondary  institutions  for 
girls,  he  regarded  the  Santiago  College  of  Chile  *'the 
best  known  North  American  school  for  girls  in  all 
South  America."  It  begins  with  kindergarten  and  car- 
ries the  work  through  primary,  secondary  and  higher 
grades,  under  the  direction  of  a  superior  corps  of 
teachers.  In  addition  to  the  curriculum  in  liberal  arts, 
it  has  a  conservatory  of  music  with  an  eight  years* 
course  and  a  department  of  fine  arts. 

Securing  students  from  the  higher  classes  has  not 
proceeded  far  in  Latin  America.  Their  young  women 
are  secluded  from  general  society  and  are  loyal  to 
Roman  Catholicism.  In  Church  institutions  they  are 
taught  accomplishments,  such  as  embroidery  and 
music,  and  in  the  conventual  schools  religion  is  very 
central.  What  is  demanded  is  an  education  suitable 
"for  a  wiie  and  mother,"  that  is,  a  non-vocational 
training.  As  large  families  are  desired  and  as  in- 
fant mortality  is  two  or  three  times  as  great  as  in 
North  America,  this  should  be  considered  by  the  upper 
class  students,  for  such  women  might  inspire  reform 


THE  UPBUILDING  OF  WOMANHOOD  131 

measures  for  the  public  benefit,  as  well  as  know  how 
to  care  for  their  own  children.  The  Commission  is 
of  the  opinion  that  if  girls  from  the  higher  ranks 
in  society  are  to  be  reached,  a  large  sum  of  money 
is  requisite  to  provide  adequate  buildings,  faculties  of 
good  breeding  and  high  culture,  libraries  and  labora- 
tories. This  in  turn  calls  for  cooperation  between 
the  missionary  Boards. 

As  a  specimen  of  an  entirely  different  sort  of  teach- 
ing the  Congress  was  deeply  interested  in  the  unique- 
ness of  Miss  Coopers  work  among  the  San  Bias  In- 
dians on  an  island  a  hundred  miles  from  Colon.  Twice 
at  extra  sessions  she  had  delighted  her  audience  with 
the  racy,  gloriously-believing  account  of  that  mission 
and  had  illustrated  her  addresses  with  two  trophies  of 
her  work,  bright  Indian  boys  who  spoke  and  aided  her 
variously.  Certain  that  she  was  sent  of  God  and 
utterly  fearless  of  what  man  could  do  against  one  so 
sent,  she  had  braved  many  dangers  and  had  triumphed. 
In  her  school  she  has  about  100  boys  and  70  girls. 
Here  is  a  sample  of  her  as  she  addressed  the  Congress. 
**They  come  to  my  school  in  the  morning  as  soon  as 
the  sun  rises.  They  are  very  eager  to  learn.  They 
will  stay  as  late  as  eleven  o'clock  at  night.  For  the 
first  two  months  I  was  there,  I  taught  school  three 
times  a  day,  and  I  had  some  private  scholars  besides. 
As  soon  as  one  group  of  children  went  out,  another 
came  in.  They  seemed  to  think  that  I  could  live  with- 
out eating.  Well,  I  could  almost  live  by  teaching.  I 
have  never  been  sick.     ...    Let  me  tell  you  some- 


132  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

thing  of  the  results.  I  have  them  in  sanitation  and 
morals,  just  as  well  as  other  results.  When  I  went  out 
there  to  that  town,  the  houses  were  so  close  together 
that  you  could  not  walk  hardly,  but  now  we  have  broad 
streets  and  fences.  There  were  ten  saloons  on  the 
island ;  there  is  not  one  now.'* 

Social  programs  were  discussed  by  the  Congress.  It 
had  been  hoped  that  here  might  be  found  a  common 
bond  between  the  Roman  Church  and  evangelical  mis- 
sions; but  as  a  Church  there  is  apparently  no  present 
probability  of  any  united  action  with  evangelicals. 
The  woman's  movement  has  scarcely  begun  to  touch 
Latin  America,  though  developments  affecting  the  in- 
dustrial life  and  the  entry  of  women  in  teaching  and 
the  professions  are  requiring  some  such  organiza- 
tions as  are  found  in  North  America  and  Europe.  The 
evening  before  the  presentation  of  the  Commission's 
report  was  a  woman's  session,  and  at  that  time  the 
wife  of  the  President  of  the  Congress,  Senora  Monte- 
verde,  told  of  the  beginnings  of  concerted  action 
_^mong  women.  The  league  for  fighting  tuberculosis 
and  the  work  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union  against  intemperance  she  had  mentioned  as  typ- 
ical of  the  good  that  might  be  accomplished  by  women 
either  with  or  without  the  use  of  the  Protestant  name. 
Mexico  seems  farthest  along  in  these  organizations. 
The  women  there  attend  meetings  in  the  interests  of 
temperance,  missions,  working  women  and  clubs  of  all 
sorts.  Elsewhere  it  seemed  desirable  to  adopt  and 
enlarge  the  club  idea,  one  missionary  writing:  'The 


THE  UPBUILDING  OF  WOMANHOOD  133 

field  of  the  club  seems  to  be  as  large  in  Latin- American 
countries  as  in  any  others ;  and  there  is  no  reason  why 
it  may  not  be  developed  to  an  indefinite  extent,  bring- 
ing about  the  same  results  as  those  to  be  obtained  in 
any  other  part  of  the  world.  It  may  be  regarded  as 
a  legitimate  part  of  mission  activity  to  be  developed 
in  connection  with  church  and  school  work."  Women's 
organizations  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  a  better 
education  seem  most  common  among  Peruvians.  So- 
cial betterment  is  also  appealing  to  many  women. 

The  program  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  As- 
sociation on  its  social  side  was  commended  by  Senora 
Monteverde  and  also  by  the  report  and  by  one  of  the 
speakers.  The  Association  at  Buenos  Aires,  repre- 
sented in  the  Congress  by  Senorita  Cortes,  is  the  fore- 
most organization  in  its  social  work  for  women.  Mul- 
titudes of  girls  from  abroad  and  from  distant  parts  of 
the  Plate  countries  come  to  that  capital  with  little 
money  and  are  subjected  to  the  moral  perils  of  the 
city.  The  Association  aids  them  in  various  ways,  not 
as  a  boarding  house  merely,  but  as  a  home  and  a 
"family"  of  young  women  with  strong  Christian  lead- 
ership. Its  employment  bureau,  savings-bank,  and 
especially  its  religious  meetings,  are  all  helpful  and  are 
greatly  appreciated. 

Mrs.  John  Howland  of  Mexico  at  the  women's 
session  of  Tuesday  night  had  spoken  of  "the  womanly 
approach  to  the  citadel  of  the  home,"  and  this  was  a 
phase  of  woman's  work  that  was  presented  very  effec- 
tively.   Miss  Florence  Smith's  address  that  same  eve- 


134  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

ning  upon  *' Womanhood  in  the  Home"  was  most  in- 
teresting. As  already  intimated,  the  home  is  more 
populous  than  with  North  Americans  and  Europeans. 
Besides  the  large  family  of  children, — the  wife  of  the 
President  of  the  Congress  is  the  mother  of  eleven, — 
there  are  usually  others  living  there.  In  the  family 
which  Miss  Smith  described  there  were  present  *'hus- 
band  and  wife,  married  son,  wife  and  baby,  invalid 
daughter,  three  other  children,  two  mothers-in-law  and 
numerous  relatives  and  friends,  gathered  daily  about 
their  hospitable  board.  ...  In  rural  communities 
three  and  even  four  generations,  where  girls  marry  at 
thirteen,  are  often  found  under  the  common  roof- 
tree;  and  stalwart  sons  of  thirty-five  and  forty  are 
referred  to  as  'los  nmos/  and  if  unruly  even  at  that 
age  are  reduced  to  obedience  by  the  rod."  Yet  man 
is  also  dominant  over  w^oman.  ''From  the  cradle  to 
the  grave,  the  life  of  the  average  Latin- American 
woman  is  under  male  influence :  in  childhood  under 
paternal  authority,  or,  failing  that,  under  elder  brother, 
or  nearest  male  relative;  as  a  wife,  wholly  subservient 
to  her  husband;  in  old  age,  if  widowed,  to  her  sons. 
If  she  belongs  to  a  conservative  family,  all  these  in- 
fluences are  secondary  to  that  of  the  priest."  Mental 
apathy  or  inertia  is  likewise  present,  which  even  in 
evangelical  families  is  hard  to  dispel  among  the  women. 
Into  such  homes  the  woman  missionary  goes  with 
her  broader  vision  and  her  w^insome  Christian  mes- 
sage. A  little  school  girl  may  have  led  her  thither; 
the  entire  family  may  follow  her  thence  to  the  church. 


THE  UPBUILDING  OF  WOMANHOOD  135 

Besides  all  the  children  of  day  and  Sunday-schools, 
the  sick  and  afflicted  must  be  visited  in  their  homes; 
new  families  must  be  followed  up;  opportunities  for 
instilling  important  information  bearing  upon  hygiene 
and  temperance  must  be  utilized;  a  visiting  nurse  is 
needed;  and  so  in  various  ways  the  home  citadel 
capitulates  to  the  power  of  Christian  adaptability  and 
friendliness. 

In  the  Commission's  opinion,  the  lack  of  good  lit- 
erature is,  possibly,  one  of  the  greatest  weaknesses  in 
missionary  work  for  Latin-American  women,  as  the 
whole  range  of  wholesome  books  for  young  people  and 
stories  for  children  are  wanting.  Miss  Blaney,  teach- 
ing in  the  Escuela  Popular  of  Valparaiso,  writes :  "The 
missions  have  printed  and  sold  books  only  of  a  reli- 
gious character  for  girls.  I  believe  that  if  the  money 
could  be  obtained  to  print  translations  of  good  English 
books  and  fiction,  it  would  help  to  prepare  the  way  for 
open-mindedness  and  eventually  for  hearing  the  gospel. 
Lately  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing  some  young 
society  girls  who  know  English.  They  have  liked 
the  English  books  I  have  loaned  them  so  much  that 
they  will  read  no  others,  and  they  are  always  asking 
for  more.  One  of  them  said  she  'found  French  and 
Spanish  novels  so  silly  after  having  read  about  such 
nice  people  in  English  fiction.'  " 

From  Peru  comes  a  plea  for  a  woman's  magazine, 
voiced  in  these  words :  "A  Roman  Catholic  priest  has 
said  that  his  Church  has  full  control  of  Peru,  because 
it  has  the  women  entirely  in  its  power.     If  we  wish 


136  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

to  win  Peru  for  Christ,  we  must  reach  the  w^omen. 
The  same  is  true  even  in  a  stronger  sense  of  BoHvia 
and  no  doubt  appHes  to  all  Latin  America.  While 
many  women  here  cannot  read,  those  who  have  been 
educated  enough  for  that  eagerly  read  all  the  books 
and  papers  they  can  find.  Their  intellectual  life  is 
starved,  and  their  whole  life  is  very  narrow."  If  peri> 
odical  articles  cannot  be  written  or  translated  because 
of  the  many  demanding  tasks  of  the  women  mission- 
aries, Miss  Hodge's  suggestion  that  Miss  Laura 
White's  plan  be  tried  seems  worthy  of  consideration. 
In  her  girls'  school  she  introduced  a  course  in  which 
the  girls  were  to  study  carefully  some  good  stories  in 
English  and  then  translate  and  revivify  them  in  their 
own  tongue,  thus  enabling  her  to  edit  most  creditably 
a  vernacular  magazine  as  a  by-product  of  the  class- 
room. 

The  upbuilding  of  Latin- American  womanhood  will 
be  accomplished  through  the  uplifting  of  the  living, 
loving  Christ.  On  a  crest  of  the  dividing  chain  be- 
tween Argentina  and  Chile,  thirteen  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  statues 
of  the  world,  the  heroic  figure  of  the  Christ  of  the 
Andes,  standing  with  a  cross  in  one  hand  and  with  the 
other  uplifted.  It  was  erected  to  commemorate  the 
settlement  by  arbitration  rather  than  by  arms  of  the 
boundary  dispute  between  the  two  adjacent  republics, 
and  on  its  pedestal  the  traveler  reads,  "He  is  our  peace 
who  hath  made  both  one."  At  its  dedication  on  March 
13,   1904,  the  Bishop  of  Ancud  said:  *'Not  only  to 


THE  UPBUILDING  OF  WOMANHOOD  137 

Argentina  and  Chile  do  we  dedicate  this  monument, 
but  to  the  world,  that  from  this  day  it  may  learn  the 
lesson  of  universal  peace."  That  parable  in  stone 
sprang  from  the  hearts  of  Bishop  Benevente  and 
Senora  de  Costa  who,  as  president  of  the  Christian 
Mothers'  Association  of  Buenos  Aires,  undertook  the 
work  of  securing  funds  and  having  the  statue  erected. 
"I  even  dare  to  think,"  she  writes,  "that  the  idea  had 
to  issue  from  the  brain  of  a  woman,  because  it  is  an 
idea  of  sentiment,  and  in  all  time  men  have  reproached 
us  for  thinking  with  the  heart.  ...  It  may  be 
said  that  I  had  to  contend  with  obstacles  which  seemed 
insurmountable  for  a  woman.  But  I  have  a  moral 
quality  which  I  may  call  Saxon.  I  am  persistent  and 
tenacious  in  all  that  I  believe  true,  good,  or  just.  I 
have  always  thought  that  there  is  no  force  more  power- 
ful than  an  energetic  will  which  knows  how  to  desire 
with  faith."  Her  article  closes  with  an  appeal  for 
money  to  build  a  monastery  near  the  statue  to  serve  as 
a  refuge  for  lost  travelers.  Such  an  one  is  a  type 
of  the  highest  womanhood  of  Latin  America, — a  life 
abounding  in  alms  deeds,  supported  by  faith,  accom- 
plishing the  seemingly  impossible  through  her  indom- 
itable will. 

Until  the  parable  is  a  materialized  fact,  the  evangel- 
ical women  of  Latin  America  must  live  the  exalted, 
transfigured  life,  patiently  enduring  opposition  and 
misunderstanding,  overcoming  suspicion  and  fanatical 
hatred  with  friendliness  and  love,  surmounting  all 
obstacles  through  the  constant  exercise  of  Senora  de 


138  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Costa's  "energetic  will  which  knows  how  to  desire  with 
faith."  In  the  future  some  glad,  blissful  day  will 
dawn  when  the  boundary  line  will  be  obliterated  and 
evangelical  and  Romanist  will  be  united  through  a 
return  to  the  simplicity  of  the  early  apostolic  faith 
in  a  crucified,  risen,  omnipresent,  loving  Christ, — "our 
peace  who  hath  made  both  one." 


VII 
THE  LATIN  EVANGELICAL  CHURCHES 

The  vitally  important  theme,  "The  Church  in  the 
Field,"  was  in  good  hands,  as  Commission  VI  was 
composed  of  a  Latin-American  Methodist  bishop  as 
chairman,  Dr.  Homer  C.  Stuntz,  previously  a  mis- 
sionary in  the  Philippines,  and  twenty-six  others.  Of 
these,  eighteen  were  experienced  workers  in  Latin 
fields,  five  were  strong  Latin  Americans  and  three 
were  missionary  secretaries.  The  spirit  in  which  they 
approached  their  task  is  seen  in  the  opening  paragraph 
of  the  Commission's  findings:  *'With  reference  to 
the  general  purpose  of  evangelical  work  as  carried  on 
by  foreign  missionaries  in  Latin  America,  it  cannot  too 
often  be  remembered  that  the  missionary  comes  in  the 
spirit  of  brotherly  sympathy,  not  to  impose,  but  to 
help;  not  to  dogmatize,  but  to  demonstrate;  not  pri- 
marily even  to  teach,  but  to  facilitate  access  to  the 
Spirit  of  God  who  'shall  guide  into  all  the  truth.*  " 

The  Church  whose  interests  they  represented  was 
defined  as  made  up  of  "the  indigenous  bodies  of  Chris- 
tian believers  of  the  evangelical  faith  and  practice 
growing  up  in  the  field  under  consideration;"  and  its 
spirit  accords  with  the  general  purpose  of  evangelical 
missions  just  stated.    Its  strength  cannot  be  measured 

139 


140  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

alone  by  the  quarter  of  a  million  communicants  of 
to-day.  Back  of  them  are  double  or  triple  their  total 
of  friends,  sympathizers  and  adherents.  They  are 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  evangelical  message; 
they  worship  in  evangelical  churches;  their  children 
are  in  the  Sunday-schools;  many  of  them  will  come 
mto  the  Church  some  day.  Moreover,  it  must  be  kept 
in  mind  in  any  fair  appraisal  of  the  strength  of  the 
Church  in  Latin  America  that  as  a  social  force  it  is 
influential  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  number  of  its 
members.  It  is  a  true  gospel  leaven;  and  it  is  the 
nature  of  leaven — though  small  in  bulk  compared  to 
the  meal  in  which  it  is  hidden  away — to  permeate 
steadily  the  remainder  of  the  whole  mass  and  to  bring 
it  into  conformity  with  itself. 

One  cannot  estimate  fully  the  problems  and  char- 
acter of  the  evangelical  community  without  bearing 
clearly  in  mind  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  under 
whose  overshadowing  influences  most  of  its  member- 
ship have  lived.  Those  who  know  Romanism  through 
acquaintance  with  it  in  North  America  or  Great 
Britain  should  realize  that  Catholicism  in  those 
countries  is  centuries  removed  from  the  supersti- 
tious, persistently  living  yet  ever  moribund  Church 
of  Latin  America.  To  be  convinced  of  this,  the 
traveler  needs  only  to  attend  services  in  the  beautiful, 
progressive  city  of  Havana,  where  not  five  minutes' 
walk  away  from  the  ceiba  tree  in  whose  shade 
Columbus  preached  to  the  Indians,  he  will  see  and 
hear  a  ritual  not  less  magical  nor  more  religiously 


THE  LATIN   EVANGELICAL  CHURCHES         141 

helpful  than  that  of  the  pagan  red  man  of  four  cen- 
turies ago.  In  so  enlightened  a  city  as  Panama,  the 
Congress  delegates,  on  their  way  to  hear  Dr.  Speer 
preach,  saw  diagonally  opposite  the  famous  old  Ca- 
thedral, on  the  first  floor  of  the  Bishop's  residence,  a 
greater  throng  assembled  for  the  Sunday  morning  lot- 
tery-drawing than  is  attracted  to  the  cathedral  services, 
while  far  greater  numbers  are  to  be  seen  at  the  bull- 
fight Sunday  afternoons  than  at  all  the  churches. 
Though  the  same  thing  might  be  said  of  Roman 
Catholics  in  attendance  at  Coney  Island  as  compared 
with  the  attendance  at  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  on  Fifth 
Avenue,  yet  the  services  and  the  spirit  in  the  two 
cathedrals  differ  greatly. 

To  be  more  specific,  the  Church  from  which  the 
Latin  American  comes  out  is  venerable,  with  a  history 
which,  it  claims,  goes  back  to  St.  Peter  and  Jesus.  Its 
churches  and  cathedrals  appeal  to  the  imagination 
through  their  symbolical  architecture  and  ritual,  their 
cool  spaciousness  and  their  "dim  religious  Hght,"  so 
helpful  to  those  who  would  go  apart  for  private  devo- 
tion or  meditation.  Most  of  them  having  state  or 
private  foundations,  their  support  makes  little  demand 
upon  the  people,  many  of  whom  are  poor.  Latin- 
American  religion  is  largely  sacramentarian.  Auricu- 
lar confession,  which  is  part  of  penance,  is  exalted  and 
by  the  women  is  highly  regarded;  Church  worship  is 
priestly  rather  than  congregational,  the  audience  being 
passive  and  often  apathetic  listeners  with  no  real  inter- 
est in  what  many  do  not  at  all  understand.    With  the 


142  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

exception  of  a  very  small  minority,  the  priesthood  is 
not  broadly  read  and  trained ;  and  even  when  there  is 
unusual  intelligence,  ecclesiastical  prescriptions  and 
prohibitions  restrict  the  eager  seminarist  to  little  more 
than  a  mediaeval  obscurantism.  All  this  light  and 
shadow  is  held  so  indispensable  to  the  souFs  salvation 
that  the  layman  finds  it  difficult  to  leave  the  Church  of 
his  childhood  and  of  his  fathers;  while  the  faithful 
priest  deems  it  part  of  his  bounden  duty  to  prevent  by 
every  means  the  renunciation  of  Catholicism  by  any 
of  his  flock.  When  this  cannot  be  prevented,  the 
heretic  departs  followed  by  anathemas  and  ostracism, 
if  not  persecution. 

Coming  from  such  a  heritage  and  training,  what 
does  this  religious  outcast  find  in  the  evangelical  com- 
munity for  which  he  has  sacrificed  many  things?  He 
unites  with  a  church  which  is  stigmatized  as  a  foreign 
importation,  a  taunt  that  means  much.  The  church 
building  which  shelters  him  is  anything  but  ecclesias- 
tical in  architecture  and  furnishings,  as  little  calculated 
to  foster  devotion  as  a  pewed  loft  oftentimes.  Yet 
for  its  upkeep  he  is  expected  to  contribute  weekly. 
If  the  convert — pervert,  his  world  calls  him — chances 
to  belong  to  the  upper  or  middle  classes,  he  finds  that 
his  fellow  Christians  are  from  a  stratum  of  society 
which  he  shrinks  from  associating  with : — "not  many 
wise,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble"  surely;  and 
perhaps  he  substitutes  "any"  for  "many"  in  the  quota- 
tion. Though  the  Commission  states  that  with  the 
exception  of  a  recent  immigrational  addition  Latin 


THE  LATIN   EVANGELICAL   CHURCHES         143 

and  Indian  are  the  two  main  elements  in  mission 
churches,  it  adds  that  the  one  from  which  the  mission- 
ary wins  converts  is  more  Indian  than  Spanish  in 
many  fields.  Such  a  person  will  find  among  his  hum- 
bler fellow  members  no  outstanding  leadership  of  men 
of  his  own  class.  If  the  church  has  a  national  pastor, 
he  usually  has  no  more  than  a  secondary  school  educa- 
tion. If  a  missionary  is  the  only  leader,  his  other  ex- 
cellencies may  be  obscured  by  a  halting  or  narrow 
use  of  the  mellifluous  tongue,  an  offence  to  a  Latin 
ear.  If  the  missionary  happens  to  be  enamored  of  his 
native  country  and  correspondingly  unappreciative  of 
his  adopted  land,  the  convert's  resentment  rises.  Yet 
if  the  new  comer  is  from  the  lower  classes,  as  most  of 
them  are,  these  new  associations  are  not  as  trying  as 
to  the  student,  or  merchant,  or  professional  man  de- 
scribed above.  He  finds  himself  among  others  of  his 
class  and  there  is  a  fellowship  and  nearness  to  one 
another  that  he  has  never  known  before. 

Yet  of  whatever  class  the  Latin- American  convert 
may  be,  he  has  left  behind  him  the  narrow,  formal, 
lifeless  religion  of  his  fathers  and,  like  the  pearly 
nautilus,  has  raised  against  it  a  firm  wall  of  separation, 
while  he  builds  for  his  emancipated  soul  larger  and 
more  stately  mansions,  varying  in  their  spaciousness 
and  beauty  with  his  own  capacity  and  faithfulness  and 
that  of  his  teacher.  The  Bible,  especially  the  New 
Testament  and  its  incomparable  Gospels,  is  the  guide 
and  inspiration  of  his  newly  acquired  freedom.  The 
lifeless  crucifix  is  cast  aside  while  he  lays  hold  of  a 


144  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

sympathizing  Jesus,  a  living  Christ.  Yet  the  cross 
is  not  abandoned.  It  has  revealed  to  him  what  he 
never  realized  before,  the  heinousness  of  sin  and  the 
certainty  of  its  full  atonement  and  of  his  own  salvation 
through  Christ  alone,  without  the  intervention  of 
priest,  or  saint,  or  the  Mother  of  Christ.  Instead  of 
wearing  a  crucifix,  he  is  sometimes  called  upon  to  bear 
about  on  his  body  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
always  follows  Him  with  the  necessity  of  taking  up 
his  cross  daily,  if  he  is  fully  faithful.  Just  in  propor- 
tion to  the  measure  of  his  acceptance  of  salvation  does 
he  endeavor  to  save  others,  with  a  sympathy  begotten 
from  his  own  experience  and  a  tactful  love  imparted 
by  the  human  Jesus,  now  ascended  and  giving  gifts 
to  men.  As  time  passes,  he  finds  that  his  life  must  be 
real  and  Christocentric,  if  it  is  to  outvalue  his  old 
experience.  Here  he  is  at  the  critical  point  of  his 
spiritual  history, — the  parting  of  the  ways  where  many 
relapse  into  the  formality  and  laxity  of  former  days 
and  many  others  stir  themselves  up  to  a  new  and  daily 
experience  of  the  power  of  the  keeping  Christ. 

In  discussing  the  organization  and  membership  of 
Latin  evangelical  churches,  the  Commission  empha- 
sized the  Moorish  influence  evident  in  all  parts  of 
Latin  America  except  Brazil.  This  influence  upon  the 
evangelical  membership  should  be  regarded  by  evan- 
gelists and  administrators  of  Christian  work.  It  de- 
mands both  comprehension  and  great  patience.  When 
understood,  it  furnishes  a  ready  explanation  for  some 
temperamental,    domestic,    social   and   even   religious 


THE  LATIN  EVANGELICAL  CHURCHES         145 

phenomena  otherwise  most  baffling  to  the  missionary 
of  a  widely  different  race. 

The  Indian  element  has  been  Christianized  only 
imperfectly;  hence  that  strain  in  the  Church  has  no 
true  ideas  of  sin,  little  hatred  for  it  and  no  idea  that  it 
is  ever  possible  to  live  free  from  its  contamination. 
The  Latin  element  is  not  acquainted  with  the  Scriptures 
and  so  differs  little  from  the  Indian  in  its  attitude  to- 
ward sin.  Dissimulation  is  common;  everything  is 
excused  on  the  plea  of  temperament,  precedent,  or 
custom.  Add  to  these  tendencies  the  Latin  emotion- 
alism, desire  to  please  and  the  consequent  responsive- 
ness and  demonstrativeness  of  congregations  hearing 
the  gospel,  and  one  can  understand  why  some  are 
admitted  to  the  church  who  are  not  truly  Christian, 
Well  may  the  caution  of  Senor  Rodriguez  Cepero  be 
observed  in  receiving  members:  "The  workers  in 
Porto  Rico  must  not  look  for  statistics  only.  The 
work  in  some  churches  is  like  artificially  ripened  fruit 
Fruit  dealers  sometimes  resort  to  such  methods,  but 
members  must  not  be  brought  into  the  church  in  the 
same  way.  They  must  ripen  slowly,  so  that  they  are 
truly  converted  before  they  are  admitted  to  its  member- 
ship." Yet  that  extreme  of  caution  which  chills  and 
repels  the  timid  but  earnest  seeker  after  truth  is  also 
to  be  avoided.  A  catechumenate  of  some  sort  is  very 
desirable  for  most  applicants  for  membership,  that 
they  may  know  the  certainty  concerning  those  things 
wherein  they  are  instructed.  It  is  needed  to  avoid  an 
evil  resulting  in  the  Apostolic  Church,  when  the  step 


146  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

from  Judaism  to  Christianity  was  apparently  so  short 
that  many  entered  the  infant  Church  only  to  bring 
with  them  Judaizing  tendencies.  The  incoming  of 
Latins  who  count  themselves  Protestants  merely  be- 
cause of  an  antagonism  for  Romanism,  without  having 
broken  away  from  their  sins  and  without  having  en- 
tered into  any  sort  of  evangelical  experience,  is  an 
extreme  form  of  this  danger  which  suitable  instruc- 
tion would  expose  and  correct. 

The  program  of  evangelical  churches  thus  consti- 
tuted has  been  stated  in  part  in  Chapter  III.  How  im- 
portant personal  work  is,  the  quotation  of  a  Central- 
American  missionary's  testimony  will  evidence.  "Peo- 
ple are  afraid  of  being  'queered'  by  attending  evan- 
gelical meetings.  The  greater  part  of  these  people  will 
never  be  reached,  if  we  wait  to  get  them  into  formal 
service.  Those  who  have  no  heart  interest  in  evan- 
gelical teachings  and  practices  are  afraid  of  being 
ostracised.  ...  By  personal  tact,  by  grace  of 
manner  and  by  an  unshrinking  persistence,  the  very 
persons  who  are  thus  made  the  victims  of  such  treat- 
ment may  be  won  from  their  prejudice  and  error.  To 
neglect  the  God-given  opportunities  of  doing  personal 
work  with  the  many  whom  we  meet  day  by  day  is  to 
run  the  risk  of  showing  ourselves  unprofitable  and 
unworthy  servants." 

Young  people's  societies  were  strongly  commended 
by  the  Commission.  In  Brazil  they  are  a  most  fruitful 
field  for  developing  workers.  People  converted  late 
in  life  do  not  give  up  their  habits  and  conceptions  read- 


THE  LATIN  EVANGELICAL   CHURCHES         147 

ily.  Young  people  are  much  more  teachable  and  can 
be  trained  into  the  highest  form  and  expression  of  the 
Christian  life.  They  are  more  ready  to  take  part  in 
public  worship  and  church  work  than  are  the  youth 
of  the  United  States,  partly  because  of  greater  facility 
in  speaking  in  public.  Another  correspondent  of  the 
Commission  urged  that  these  societies  should  add  to 
their  religious  meetings  activities  of  a  social  and  phys- 
ical sort,  the  latter  to  meet  the  counter-attractions  of 
the  dance,  cock-pit,  bull-fight  and  race-track.  "Base- 
ball, basketball  and  kindred  games  are  good  for  the 
boys.  Similar  recreation  could  be  planned  for  the 
girls.  Literary  clubs  and  entertainments  of  every 
legitimate  kind  should  be  provided.  Any  general 
provision  for  the  growth  of  the  evangelical  churches  in 
Latin  America  must  include  these  social  forces.  This 
is  vital  to  the  life  of  the  Church  and  of  the  young 
people.  If  the  Church  does  not  offer  safe  and  sane 
recreation  for  its  youth,  the  world  will  offer  some  other 
kind.**  Yet  a  missionary  in  Cuba  emphasizes  the  obvi- 
ous caution  that  these  societies  should  be  subordinate 
to  the  Church  in  order  that  the  reHgious  life  may  be 
strongly  maintained. 

To  what  has  already  been  written  concerning  Sun- 
day schools,  one  needs  to  do  little  more  than  add  the 
endorsement  of  this  Commission.  Thus  Mr.  Jones 
of  the  Friends  Mission  in  Cuba  stated  that  about  half 
of  those  received  into  the  church  during  the  past  three 
years  have  come  directly  through  the  Sunday  school, 
while  ninety-five  percent,   of  their  best  trained   full 


148  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

members  came  from  the  same  source.  While  Profes- 
sor Monteverde  beheved  fully  in  the  Sunday-school 
work,  with  which  he  has  been  identified  for  thirty 
years,  he  is  convinced  that  its  program  and  teaching 
methods  should  be  changed  radically,  if  they  are  to  be 
most  effective.  The  appointment  of  the  Rev.  G.  P. 
Howard,  of  Montevideo,  as  South  America's  Sunday- 
school  secretary,  noted  by  the  Commission,  doubtless 
\Y\\\  help  on  these  improvements. 

Special  evangelistic  efforts  of  the  churches,  like  the 
"protracted  meetings"  reported  as  being  so  helpful  in 
Yucatan,  were  commended.  In  Chihuahua  and  Mex- 
ico City  and  in  seven  South  American  centers  evan- 
gelistic and  special  meetings  for  united  prayer  have 
resulted  in  conversions  and  in  the  spiritual  quickening 
of  very  many.  It  was  queried  whether  the  time  has 
not  arrived  to  unite  in  holding  concerted  interdenomi- 
national evangelistic  services  extending  over  some 
wxeks,  or  at  least  several  days.  These  would  be  held 
in  the  stronger  centers  under  the  leadership  of  men 
having  a  fine  sense  of  local  situations  and  able  to 
speak  to  the  people  in  their  own  tongue. 

Social  work  of  the  churches  has  been  discussed 
previously,  and  only  one  item  needs  to  be  added  here 
concerning  its  relation  to  reforms.  Experience  shows 
that  it  should  be  "an  attitude  of  extreme  wariness. 
The  worker  ought  to  remember  that  any  action  of  his 
may  involve  for  years  the  reputation  of  the  evangelical 
churches."  Concerning  abuses  which  attempt  to  de- 
stroy the  liberties  or  which  threaten  the  existence  of 


THE  LATIN   EVANGELICAL   CHURCHES         149 

defenceless  tribes  or  races,  the  Commission  says:  ''If 
the  demands  of  Christianity  require  the  action  of  the 
missionary,  he  should  obtain  the  adhesion  of  the  bulk 
of  the  Christian  forces  in  the  country  before  taking 
action,  then  appeal  to  the  national  authorities  to  right 
the  wrong,  and  only  after  exhausting  in  vain  the  na- 
tional resources  of  justice  should  he  assume  the  respon- 
sibility of  publishing  the  particulars  in  foreign  lands. 
Pride  of  race  is  nowhere  keener  than  in  Latin  America ; 
and  to  hold  one  of  its  republics  up  as  a  gazing-stock 
to  the  nations  of  the  earth  is  an  unpardonable  sin,  no 
matter  how  just  the  cause." 

The  problems  of  missions  in  these  republics  are  such 
that  they  received  considerable  attention  in  the  report, 
little  in  the  discussion.  The  external  relations  of 
churches  to  the  state  are  less  troublesome  than  before 
religious  liberty  had  been  declared.  The  Rev.  Fran- 
cisco Penzotti,  with  nearly  forty  years  experience  in 
Central  and  South  America,  has  been  imprisoned  many 
times  for  the  offense  of  distributing  the  Bible  or 
preaching,  the  most  noted  instance  being  an  eight- 
months'  incarceration  in  a  common  jail  at  Callao,  Peru. 
The  Rev.  L.  G.  ]\Iora  of  ^Mexico  told  the  Congress 
of  that  republic's  sixty-four  evangelical  martyrs.  Such 
extreme  cases  and  many  less  important  ones  have  com- 
pelled missionaries  to  face  the  government  and  have 
hindered  evangelical  growth.  Though  religious  equal- 
ity is  the  law  of  every  Latin-American  state,  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  is  actually  the  established  or 
dominant  religion  except  in  Brazil,  Mexico,  Guatemala, 


150  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Cuba  and  Panama.  Outside  Brazil,  where  there  is  a 
true  Hberty  of  worship,  the  priest,  generally  through 
the  petty  authorities,  can  at  times  harass  the  Christian 
worker  and  interfere  with  his  work.  The  laws  relating 
to  civil  marriage,  divorce,  religious  instruction,  public 
beneficence  and  burial  are  other  hindrances  to  the  mis- 
sionary propaganda.  On  the  other  hand,  officials  are 
increasingly  friendly  to  the  missionaries  and  are  favor- 
ing certain  elements  in  the  evangelical  community, 
where  it  can  be  done  rightly.  The  Congress  favored 
a  policy  of  identity  of  interests  between  missions  and 
the  state.  Both  groups  are  w^orking  for  the  same  great 
fundamental  objects,  the  spread  of  education,  the  sup- 
pression of  disease  and  crime,  the  eradication  of  the 
causes  of  moral  corruption  and  the  safeguarding  of  the 
rights  of  the  people  to  the  peaceful  pursuit  of  industry 
and  happiness.    All  conflict  should  be  avoided. 

As  for  internal  problems.  Those  connected  with 
discipline  are  varied.  Temptations  to  impurity  and  the 
public  attitude  toward  that  sin  in  the  case  of  men  make 
a  pure  evangelical  Church  difficult  to  maintain.  The 
almost  prohibitive  cost  of  marriage  for  the  poor  and 
the  tendency  to  Corinthianize  among  the  wealthy,  with 
the  large  proportion  of  illegitimacy  prevalent,  add  to 
the  problem.  Mr.  Ritchie  felt  that  unfaithfulness  in 
marriage  and  related  questions  w^ere  so  serious  as  to 
require  a  special  conference  to  discuss  them. 

Sunday  observance  in  the  countries  under  review 
is  most  difficult.  The  most  attractive  excursions,  and 
business  meetings  of  clubs,   commercial  houses  and 


THE  LATIN  EVANGELICAL  CHURCHES         151 

political  parties  are  held  on  Sundays.  When  men  join 
evangelical  churches,  they  are  apt  to  be  so  interrelated 
socially,  industrially  and  by  ties  of  kinship  to  those 
about  them  who  care  little  for  the  sacredness  of  the 
day  that  to  expect  any  immediate  sensitiveness  to  the 
question  of  Sunday  observance  is  as  unreasonable  as 
it  is  desirable.  The  probationary  period  required  by 
many  denominations  as  a  test  of  willingness  to  follow 
Christ  in  all  things  strengthens  the  Sabbath-keeping 
spirit  of  candidates.  Evangelical  churches  have 
thrown  their  influence  on  the  side  of  a  more  scriptural 
use  of  Sunday  and  have  uttered  their  testimony  against 
its  flagrant  abuses.  These  and  other  influences  have 
actually  crystallized  into  statutes,  Argentina,  for  exam- 
ple, having  passed  a  Sunday  law  that  has  been  in  force 
for  a  decade.  Other  countries  have  initiated  legislation 
having  the  same  object  in  view,  so  that  the  problem 
is  lightening.  Yet  it  still  remains.  As  a  missionary 
in  Brazil  puts  it :  "The  real  'Sunday  problem'  before 
the  mission  churches  to-day  is  to  find  out  reverently 
and  prayerfully  what  is  essential  with  respect  to  Sun- 
day in  the  light  of  God's  Word,  and  what  is  traditional 
only.  .  .  .  The  evangelical  forces  must  come  to 
some  conviction  as  to  the  ideals  of  Sunday  observance 
w^hich  they  will  seek  to  bring  to  bear  on  the  life  habits 
of  their  converts.  There  must  be  an  attempt  by  con- 
structive processes  to  bring  about  a  more  wholesome 
use  of  the  Sunday  holiday  by  the  social  groups  which' 
live  apart  from  the  disciplinary  and  cultural  processes 
of  the  evangelical  churches.    The  very  best  experience 


152  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

of  Christian  leaders  in  all  parts  of  the  world  should  be 
drawn  upon  to  this  end." 

Intemperance  is  an  evil  which  prevails  all  over  Latin 
America.  Native  wines,  imported  liquors,  alcohol 
made  in  the  great  sugar  areas  of  Peru,  Argentina  and 
Brazil,  are  sold  in  almost  every  kind  of  commercial 
house,  and  are  accessible  in  every  restaurant,  dining- 
car  and  hotel.  The  voice  of  the  evangelical  Church  in 
this  wide  field  is  practically  unanimous  in  condemning 
this  evil.  Temperance  societies  are  now  being  formed 
by  Latin  Americans  in  the  different  countries,  and 
scientific  temperance  instruction  has  been  introduced 
into  the  public  schools  of  Peru  and  to  some  extent  in 
Uruguay  and  other  countries.  Whatever  there  is  of 
teaching  throughout  these  lands  as  to  total  abstinence 
from  alcoholic  liquors  is  due  in  its  inception  to  the 
evangelical  movement. 

A  fourth  besetting  sin  of  Latin  Americans,  though 
not  deemed  sinful  by  many,  as  it  is  frequently  under 
Church  oversight,  is  gambling,  especially  in  the  form 
of  lotteries.  All  church  members  are  brought  face  to 
face  with  it  and  its  variations  in  the  guise  of  raffles  and 
other  schemes  of  chance.  For  the  majority  of  them 
it  appears  to  be  perfectly  legitimate  to  purchase  lottery 
tickets,  for  this  is  sanctioned  by  the  government.  More- 
over, those  who  fail  to  draw  premiums  consent  to  this 
on  purchasing  tickets  and  are  prepared  for  it.  Indeed, 
the  selling  of  these  tickets  gives  employment  to  very 
many  needy  persons,  especially  to  the  maimed  and 
crippled.     It  is  not  easy  to  convince  impulsive  Latins 


THE  LATIN  EVANGELICAL   CHURCHES         153 

of  the  evil  of  the  lottery;  years  of  courageous  exposi- 
tion of  ethical  principles  and  of  patient  dealing  with 
departures  from  these  standards  are  required  before 
it  ceases. 

The  churches  under  consideration  are  very  much 
like  the  one  in  Corinth  whose  problems,  as  revealed  in 
his  first  Corinthian  epistle,  caused  St.  Paul  so  much 
anxiety  and  called  for  such  sternness.  It  is  for  that 
reason  that  the  Commission  thus  writes:  "The  evan- 
gelical churches  should  always  and  everywhere  guard 
against  falling  into  lax  ways  in  the  matter  of  disci- 
pline. Church  membership  should  ever  be  held  incom- 
patible with  lying,  stealing,  adultery,  dishonest  prac- 
tices and  in  fact  with  any  expression  of  a  low  standard 
of  morals."  It  would  be  wholly  unjust  to  infer  that 
evangelical  church  members  of  Latin  America  are  typ- 
ically described  in  the  warning  quoted;  they  are  the 
exceptions  while  every  church  has  its  saints,  just  as  did 
those  of  apostolic  days. 

In  turning  from  the  grosser  weaknesses  of  the  evan- 
gelical communities  to  consider  the  spiritual  life  of 
their  churches,  one  takes  heart  despite  the  lacks  still 
evident  there.  It  is  obviously  a  more  openly  tested 
life  than  is  found  in  Protestant  lands.  Volumes  could 
be  written  telling  of  persecutions  ranging  all  the  way 
from  malicious  libel  and  the  petty  social  slights  and 
business  boycotts,  which  are  the  commonplace  expe- 
riences of  new  members,  up  to  imprisonment.  These 
things  are  met  in  the  spirit  of  good  soldiership,  and 
those  who  have  once  identified  themselves  openly  with 


154  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

the  Church  are  rarely  known  to  have  permitted  perse- 
cution to  swerve  them  from  their  loyahy  to  Christ. 
Other  evidences  of  spiritual  faithfulness  when  under 
test  are  seen  when  men  give  up  a  lucrative  business 
because  they  will  not  work  on  Sunday,  or  because  the 
giving  or  receiving  of  bribes  was  demanded.  Some 
have  restored  money  unlawfully  taken;  others  have 
banished  liquor  from  their  stores,  thereby  losing  many 
of  their  most  profitable  customers;  still  others  have 
ended  unlawful  family  relations  by  a  marriage  which 
was  a  public  confession  of  former  wrong-doing,  not 
easy  for  those  who  made  it. 

In  the  more  specifically  religious  duties  of  Chris- 
tians, it  is  gratifying  to  find  that  in  many  churches  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  membership  is  found  at 
every  preaching  service  and  at  prayer-meetings  and 
other  public  functions  of  the  church,  attending  in  all. 
five  or  six  services  a  week.  If  the  prayer-meeting  is 
a  spiritual  thermometer  of  the  Church,  then  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  spirituality  of  Latin  church  mem- 
bers is  perhaps  deeper  than  in  the  home  lands ;  for  the 
attendance  is  greater  and  the  prayers  more  spontaneous 
in  the  former  than  in  the  latter.  However,  other 
factors  besides  spirituality  determine  one's  presence 
at  prayer-meetings.  The  greatest  difficulty  in  these 
meetings  is  not  in  getting  people  to  attend  and  to  pray, 
but  in  making  them  realize  the  true  significance  of 
prayer  and  in  preventing  merely  perfunctory  praying. 
An  additional  proof  of  the  genuine  spiritual  life  of 
the  converts  is  seen  in  their  custom  of  reading  and 


"1 


1^  ll-j'' 


SEA  WALL  CHURCH,  PANAMA 
CONTINUATION  COMMITTEE 


THE  LATIN  EVANGELICAL  CHURCHES         155 

Studying  the  Bible.  Many  young  Christians  put  older 
ones  to  shame  by  the  assiduous  way  in  which  they 
drink  at  the  living  springs  of  revelation.  In  the  Church 
at  large,  however,  there  is  the  same  lack  of  Bible  study 
as  is  found  elsewhere.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  arrive  at 
just  conclusions  as  to  the  spiritual  status  of  members 
of  these  churches  by  the  evangelistic  activities  in  which 
they  are  willing  to  participate.  The  larger  number  of 
those  who  are  ready  to  undertake  such  work  are  far 
more  ready  to  denounce  evil  ways  than  to  instill  right- 
eous purposes.  Yet  a  steady  increase  of  true  evangelis- 
tic zeal  is  noted. 

A  member  of  the  Commission  writes  from  Brazil  as 
follows:  "A  deeply  spiritual  pastor  tends  to  make  a 
deeply  spiritual  church;  and  a  spiritual  church,  if  prop- 
erly led,  inevitably  becomes  an  intensely  aggressive 
church.  .  .  .  Our  greatest  need  in  Latin  America 
is  for  competent,  aggressive.  Spirit-filled  leadership. 
Our  people  are  ready  to  follow  where  such  leadership 
is  found,  taking  part  in  personal  evangelism,  in  tract 
distribution,  in  the  holding  of  cottage  prayer-meetings 
and  in  the  manifold  activities  of  church  upbuilding." 

Over  against  this  help  to  spirituality  the  Commission 
noted  as  hindrances  the  lack  of  devotional  literature 
in  Spanish  and  Portuguese  and  the  absence  of  a  sense 
of  personal  responsibility  for  the  performance  of  their 
ordinary  church  duties  noted  among  many  of  the 
members.  They  have  been  brought  up  to  think  that 
the  Church  will  go  on,  whether  those  composing  it 
actively  cooperate  or  not.     Not  a  few  Sunday-school 


156  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

teachers  and  church  officials  accept  their  duties  and 
then  perform  them  when  they  are  incHned  to  do  so. 
Their  children  attend  Sunday-school  no  oftener  than 
they  please,  and  their  absence  receives  no  rebuke  from 
the  parents. 

The  task  of  self -propagation  of  the  evangelical 
Church  was  urged  by  the  Commission  as  a  corrective 
of  imperfectly  developed  or  waning  spirituality.  "The 
principal  aim  of  every  intelligent  pastor,"  it  declares, 
"should  be  to  set  every  member  to  work.  Every  mem- 
ber who  is  not  interested  in  some  branch  of  Christian 
work  will  very  likely  soon  be  lost  to  the  Church.  By 
the  employment  of  various  methods,  the  problem  of 
self -propagation  will  have  been  solved ;  and  the  spirit- 
ual life  and  missionary  spirit  of  the  Church  will  have 
been  aroused  to  its  highest  pitch  through  the  spiritual 
life  and  activity  of  each  member  coming  to  realize 
what  is  his  duty  to  God  and  to  the  dying  world  around 
him."  Many  churches  contribute  to  the  Board  under 
whose  care  they  are,  while  some  have  taken  the  initi- 
ative in  work  in  behalf  of  other  races.  Five  years 
ago  a  group  of  Christians  of  one  denomination  organ- 
ized a  Board  of  Missions,  raised  among  the  churches 
a  fund  of  $i,ooo  a  year,  appointed  two  of  their  number 
and  sent  them  to  three  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  central 
Mexico.  This  organization  has  also  made  an  annual 
contribution  for  some  years  to  help  sustain  an  inde- 
pendent work  in  Chile.  Several  missionaries  urge  the 
organization  of  active  members  of  the  church  into 
small  bands  for  aggressive  evangelism,  planning  their 


THE  LATIN   EVANGELICAL   CHURCHES         157 

work  and  keeping  them  inspired  for  its  performance. 
A  woman's  missionary  society  for  work  at  their  own 
doors  was  another  proposal  looking  toward  self -prop- 
agation. 

Problems  of  self-support  were  discussed,  with  more 
frequent  references  to  successful  methods  in  Korea 
and  Africa  than  in  Latin  America.  If  beginnings  had 
been  in  that  direction,  as  was  the  case  in  Korea,  possi- 
bly results  would  have  been  like  the  church  growing 
out  of  the  voluntary  Bible  reading  of  a  Negro  me- 
chanic which  won  his  master's  family,  led  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  evangelical  community  and  the  erection 
of  the  only  building  in  Ecuador  dedicated  exclusively 
to  gospel  service.  More  applicable  than  the  Korean, 
Chinese  and  African  illustrations  of  self-support  was 
that  of  the  Philippine  Islands — apparently  drawn  from 
the  experience  of  the  Commission's  chairman — as 
conditions  there  more  nearly  parallel  those  obtaining 
in  Latin  America.  An  itinerancy  for  preaching  the 
simple  gospel  led  to  the  conversion  of  a  few.  From 
these  the  most  fit  were  chosen  to  conduct  Sunday  serv- 
ices and  one  on  mid-week.  The  missionary  visited 
them  once  in  two  or  three  months,  the  members  in  the 
meanwhile  maintaining  their  own  meetings  and  gather- 
ing in  others.  As  a  result,  within  seven  years  that 
denomination  had  gathered  into  its  church  fellowship 
over  20,000  believers,  and  more  than  a  hundred  se- 
lected exhorters  and  local  preachers  were  preaching 
from  one  to  three  times  weekly  without  so  much  as 
thinking  of  receiving  salary.     Three  or  four  of  the 


158  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Stronger  churches  had  undertaken  the  entire  support 
of  their  Fihpino  pastors  who  gave  all  their  time  to  the 
work. 

In  Latin  America  an  error  may  have  been  made  of 
the  sort  described  by  a  Buenos  Aires  missionary :  "I  am 
beginning  to  feel  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  go  into  a  city 
and  put  up  a  building  of  a  given  sort  and  say  to  the 
people  in  effect:  *Come  and  be  our  members;  that  is 
all  that  you  have  to  do,  as  we  pay  all  expenses  for 
building  and  for  running  the  church.  All  you  have  to 
do  is  to  be  good  Christians  and  just  members.*  I 
think  it  is  a  mistake  to  let  the  people  feel  that  it  is  the 
Board's  house,  organ  and  seats,  that  this  is  the  Board's 
man  that  we  have  for  pastor  and  that  nothing  is  ours." 
Another  writes  from  Mexico:  "If  we  continue  the 
present  plan,  we  shall  not  establish  self-sustaining 
churches  in  Mexico  in  one  hundred  years.  If  the  peo- 
ple realize  the  pastor's  financial  dependence  upon  them, 
they  will  rally  to  his  support,  not  only  financially,  but 
otherwise;  they  will  attend  his  meetings  more  regu- 
larly and  aid  him  in  the  work  which  is  one  between  him 
and  them,  and  not  between  him  and  some  Board."  An 
inspiring  example  of  what  Latin  America  actually  has 
done  in  this  direction  is  supplied  by  the  independent 
Brazilian  Presbyterian  Churches  where  self-support 
was  urged  from  the  first.  They  maintain  public  wor- 
ship, are  developing  a  strong  national  ministry  and 
pay  for  everything  which  is  done  by  Brazilians.  To 
secure  self-support  evangelical  Christians  must  be  in- 
sistently taught  the  obligations  of  stewardship  of  life 


THE  LATIN  EVANGELICAL   CHURCHES         159 

and  property  and  the  privilege  of  making  sacrifices  for 
the  Church  and  its  Lord. 

Of  three  marks  of  a  well  developed  national  Church, 
self -propagation,  self-support  and  self-government,  the 
last  is  in  Latin  America  a  peculiarly  delicate  one  to 
debate.  The  Congress  faced  these  facts.  First,  a 
large  percentage  of  church  expenses  is  paid  by  the 
sending  Societies,  making  it  seem  desirable  for  them 
to  retain  control  of  funds,  and  hence  with  little  inde- 
pendence of  the  churches  so  supported.  Yet  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Brazil  is  independent  of  the  sup- 
porting Board  in  New  York,  except  for  a  certain 
amount  of  money  granted  each  year  to  aid  the  weaker 
churches,  the  grant  being  diminished  ten  percent,  each 
year.  Missionaries  cooperate  with  it  by  developing 
new  fields  which  are  later  turned  over  to  the  national 
Church.  While  some  would  object  to  placing  so  much 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  national  evangelical  Church, 
nothing  was  made  more  evident  to  the  Commission 
than  that  the  Church  in  the  field  should  be  given  a 
larger  share  in  the  initiation  and  prosecution  of  the 
common  task  than  has  been  accorded  it  hitherto. 

Again,  as  the  evangelical  communities  enlist  the  mid- 
dle and  higher  classes  in  their  membership,  there  is  a 
growing  restlessness  because  missionaries  are  slow  to 
admit  members  of  the  national  Churches  to  member- 
ship upon  administrative  and  disciplinary  committees 
and  boards.  Upon  this  point  the  Commission  thus 
expressed  itself :  "We  note  a  growing  tendency  to  put 
responsibility  upon  the  native  Church  and  to  rely  upon 


i6o  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

the  guidance  of  native  leaders  in  local  affairs.  We 
believe  that  this  is  in  accord  with  the  best  principles 
and  especially  the  general  principle  that  the  work  of 
evangelization  of  the  field  belongs,  and  should  even- 
tually be  left,  to  the  members  of  the  native  Church/* 

Finally,  premonitions  were  noted  of  a  movement, 
similar  to  that  underlying  the  two  Presbyterian 
Churches  in  Brazil,  which  would  establish  organiza- 
tions made  up  wholly  of  national  members  and  minis- 
ters and  entirely  independent  of  support,  guidance,  or 
direction  in  any  form  from  non-Latin  Boards  and 
Churches.  The  action  of  the  Conference  at  Cincinnati 
with  regard  to  united  work  and  exchange  of  properties 
and  constituencies  between  two  Boards  showed,  at  a 
special  meeting  of  some  of  the  delegates  concerned, 
that  Mexican  leaders  did  not  approve  of  being  thus 
disposed  of,  as  would  not  have  been  possible  for  an 
independent  Church.  When  the  time  comes  for  na- 
tional leadership  of  sufficient  strength,  as  in  parts  of 
Brazil,  this  may  be  wise ;  but  the  Latin  leaders  do  not 
advise  any  further  action  at  present. 

The  great  need  of  a  numerous  and  fully  qualified 
national  leadership  as  a  vital  prerequisite  of  Latin 
evangelical  Church  development,  which  other  Commis- 
sions had  insisted  upon,  was  even  more  prominent  in 
the  report  and  discussion  of  this  theme.  Here  the  for- 
eign, as  well  as  the  national  leader,  was  considered. 
As  the  missionary  is  so  often  the  foremost  man  of  an 
evangelical  community,  he  should  have  had,  first  of 
all,  a  personal  experience  of  the  living  God,  with  its 


THE  LATIN  EVANGELICAL  CHURCHES         i6i 

resultant  soundness  of  character.  And  yet  it  must  be 
more  than  intuitive  faith  and  an  axiomatic  moraHty 
that  he  brings  to  men.  Latins  will  question  the  moral 
standards  of  Christianity  and  also  the  authority  of 
Christ  in  the  realm  of  morals  and  ethics;  and  unless 
he  is  able  to  meet  them  on  their  own  ground,  his  work 
will  be  unfruitful.  A  second  characteristic  of  foreign 
leadership  is  a  keen  sense  of  the  brotherhood  of  the 
human  race.  There  is  no  place  in  Latin  America  for 
the  missionary  who  believes  in  the  special  election  and 
high  calling  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  or  any  other  race  to 
a  predestined  supremacy  of  the  world.  A  third  essen- 
tial for  one  who  is  to  lead  is  tactful  sympathy.  The 
social  evil,  illiteracy,  mendicancy,  intemperance,  poli- 
tical corruption,  hatred  and  a  host  of  other  evils  can 
no  more  be  eradicated  by  cynical  criticism  in  Latin 
America  than  in  any  other  land.  These  are  not  Latin 
evils  but  are  common  to  humanity.  He  who  would 
serve  any  people  must  be  as  considerate,  as  friendly 
and  as  loving  as  his  Master.  A  fourth  characteristic 
required  for  leadership  in  this  work  is  broad  culture. 
There  is  no  danger  of  putting  too  much  emphasis  upon 
the  intellectual  training  of  those  who  are  to  work 
among  the  western  representatives  of  one  of  the  most 
brilliantly  intellectual  races  that  the  world  has  known. 
Nowhere  is  the  obstacle  which  bars  the  access  of  the 
gospel  to  the  hearts  of  men  so  preeminently  an  in- 
tellectual one. 

But  evangelical  missionaries  are  bound  to  be  rela- 
tively ephemeral  in  Latin  America.    The  future  great- 


i62  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

ness  or  failure  of  these  republics  is  in  the  hands  of 
their  educated  leaders.  The  Latin  evangelical  who 
would  win  men  of  culture  and  influence  cannot  do  so 
if  he  is  dogmatic  and  savors  of  hollow  ecclesiasticism. 
No  insincerity  will  be  permitted ;  obscurantism  is  even 
more  objectionable  in  Protestants  than  in  the  Roman 
Church.  Among  the  intellectuals  he  will  need  to  meet 
such  a  challenge  as  Argymiro  Galvao,  formerly  pro- 
fessor of  philosophy  in  the  law  school  at  Sao  Paulo, 
publishes  in  his  lecture  on  'The  Conception  of  God.** 
"We  are  in  the  realm  of  realism;  the  reason  medi- 
tates not  on  theological  principles,  but  on  facts  fur- 
nished by  experience.  God  is  a  myth;  He  has  no 
reality;  He  is  not  an  object  of  science."  The  national 
leader  must  recognize  likewise  the  self-consciousness 
of  the  dominant  classes  in  these  virile  republics.  They 
are  proud  of  their  history  and  of  their  heritage  and 
are  slow  to  submit  to  foreign  influence. 

The  quest  for  such  men  as  can  lead  worthily  the 
Latin  evangelical  Churches  is  one  demanding  time 
and  patience.  One  of  the  weaknesses  of  foreign  mis- 
sionary effort  has  been  the  expectation  of  results  with- 
out allowing  the  necessary  time  for  their  production. 
This  too  often  leads  to  ''hot-house"  methods,  with 
premature  ripeness  and  quick  decay.  But  time  alone 
will  not  secure  leaders.  Prolonged  Christian  nurture 
and  superlative  mental  training  are  essential.  The 
state  and  national  institutions  must  be  looked  to  for 
some  of  these  men;  and  if  their  allegiance  and  enlist- 
ment can  be  secured,  the  campaign  is  half  won.    How 


THE  LATIN  EVANGELICAL   CHURCHES         163 

can  an  effective  appeal  be  made  to  these  students? 
The  Commission  replies  thus :  "We  shall  win  them 
to  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and  a  dedication  to  His  service 
only  as  we  treat  human  problems,  both  intellectual  and 
moral,  with  unflinching  honesty;  as  we  put  ourselves 
in  sympathetic  touch  with  the  best  in  their  national 
aspirations;  as  we  believe  that  the  Latin  American 
will  have  his  own  contribution  to  make  to  the  great 
composite  which  will  one  day  be  the  religion  of  the 
race." 

Where  shall  such  leaders  receive  the  special  prep- 
aration for  their  momentous  task?  In  Europe  or 
North  America,  some  insist.  Yet  the  student  going 
to  those  lands  lives  an  exotic  life;  he  is  in  danger  of 
losing  sympathy  and  touch  with  his  own  people;  his 
foreign  training,  whether  theoretically  or  practically 
considered,  is  valuable  for  conditions  and  theories 
widely  different  from  those  obtaining  in  Latin  Amer- 
ica. These  drawbacks  are  not  offset  by  the  advantages 
of  superior  teaching  methods  and  better  educational 
equipment. 

But  even  if  a  few  choice  men  are  educated  abroad, 
it  is  impracticable  for  many  leaders  to  be  sent  to  those 
lands  for  final  education.  And  here  this  Commission 
faced  the  same  impasse  that  confronted  the  one  on 
"Education."  The  preparation  of  men  and  women  for 
work  among  the  lower  classes  is  relatively  well 
provided  for ;  there  is  nothing  wholly  suitable  for  pre- 
paring university  graduates  for  the  new  positions  of 
Christian  leadership.     The  report  and  a  hypothetical 


i64  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Statement  of  Dr.  Chester  on  the  floor  hinted  at  the 
possibility  of  special  churches  in  a  few  great  cultural 
centers  where  this  class  could  be  ministered  unto 
separately.  Already  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  is  doing  something  for  those  who  will  be 
leaders  in  the  professions  and  in  business,  but  the 
Church  has  yet  to  be  built  in  which  Christian  leaders 
can  meet  intellectuals  week  by  week  and  face  to  face. 
The  preparation  of  these  preachers  and  religious 
guides  waits  for  that  great  Christian  university, 
with  its  broad  and  devout  theological  department, 
where  a  select  few  may  be  prepared  inwardly  and 
intellectually  for  the  most  rewarding  duty  of  the 
evangelical  Church.  When  that  day  dawns  these 
Latin  republics  will  have  their  Martin  Luther  and 
John  Knox,  their  John  Wesley  and  Charles  Finney, 
their  Sherwood  Eddy  and  John  R.  Mott.  Meanwhile 
the  Commission  was  not  unmindful  of  lay  leadership 
in  every  walk  in  life  and  of  that  greater  company  of 
humble  Christian  workers  and  pastors  in  whose  faith- 
ful hands  is  the  shepherd's  crook  and  whose  loving 
counsels  and  helpful  ministry  to  body  and  soul  will 
build  up  the  evangelical  churches  and  hasten  the  com- 
ing of  a  spiritual  Kingdom  whose  Head  is  Jesus  Christ 
Himself. 


VIII 
THE  HOME  FULCRUM 

The  report  of  Commission  VII  on  "The  Home 
Base/'  with  Mr.  Harry  Wade  Hicks  as  its  experienced 
chairman,  dealt  only  with  the  home  operations  of 
North  American  Societies  having  work  in  Latin 
America.  Time  limitations  and  other  serious  difficul- 
ties prevented  the  extensive  correspondence  involved 
in  an  international  presentation  of  the  subject.  Yet 
it  should  be  recalled  that  the  twenty-one  denominations 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada  having  missions  in 
Latin  America  include  137,789  churches  or  parishes 
out  of  approximately  150,000,  or  a  little  more  than 
nine-tenths  of  the  Protestant  churches  in  these  coun- 
tries. It  is  vitally  important  that  these  millions  of 
Christians  should  be  thoroughly  aroused  for  the  sup- 
port of  missions  among  their  southern  neighbors.  The 
program  for  the  development  of  interest  in  their  life 
and  religious  problems  is  less  advanced  than  in  the 
case  of  Asiatic  and  African  fields,  yet  the  Panama 
Congress  cannot  fail  to  increase  greatly  intelligence 
and  the  sense  of  obligation  toward  Latin  America. 

The  Commission  was  impressed  with  the  special 
need  of  intercession  for  that  part  of  the  world  where 
the  delicacy  and  greatness  of  the  task  is  little  ap- 
preciated   and    whose    claims    Christians    of    North 

165 


i66  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

America  so  little  heed.  In  Europe,  the  great  war, 
and  certain  theories  of  interchurch  relationships  al- 
ways, are  responsible  for  the  still  greater  lukewarm- 
ness  in  furthering  work  among  the  Latin  republics. 
Hence  an  opening  statement  of  the  report :  "The  con- 
viction that  through  intercessory  prayer  the  difficul- 
ties surrounding  the  work  are  to  be  overcome  has  been 
deepened  week  by  week  as  the  investigations  have 
progressed.  Whatever  other  measures  may  be  ad- 
vanced for  developing  cooperation  at  the  home  base, 
the  duty  of  praying  for  the  missions  and  workers  in 
Latin-American  lands,  for  their  adequate  support  and 
for  the  peoples  for  whom  they  are  laboring,  is  upheld 
by  the  Commission  as  the  one  indispensable  condition 
of  success."  In  general  such  an  emphasis  is  more 
common  in  Great  Britain  than  in  North  America. 

The  Commission  diagnosed  the  abnormal  attitude  of 
Christians  toward  evangelical  work  in  Latin  lands  as 
the  first  step  in  its  treatment  of  the  case.  Ignorance 
is  a  root  reason  for  indifference.  With  a  little  knowl- 
edge of  their  revolutions,  politics,  trade  and  possibly 
geography,  their  moral  and  spiritual  conditions  and 
problems  have  been  slighted  or  overlooked  altogether. 
Hesitation  to  speak  or  write  concerning  their  moral 
and  spiritual  shortcomings  on  account  of  a  moving 
sense  of  sins  and  frailties  nearer  home  has  contributed 
still  further  to  apathy.  An  impression  of  the  strength 
of  the  Roman  Church  in  Latin  America  combined  with 
an  ignorance  of  its  inadequacy  to  minister  to  the  soul's 
needs  in  those  countries  is  additional  reason  for  lack 


THE  HOME  FULCRUM  167 

of  interest.  Few  realize  the  slight  hold  that  the 
Catholic  Church  has  on  the  multitudes,  the  grow- 
ing infidelity  among  educated  men,  and  the  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  unevangelized  Indians  and  the  vast 
extent  of  territory  in  a  land  Hke  Brazil,  as  a  single 
example,  entirely  untouched  by  either  Protestant  or 
Romanist.  These  and  eight  minor  reasons  for  lack  of 
interest  in  Latin  missions  were  symptomatic  of  the 
fundamental  failure  to  appreciate  spiritual  needs  and 
values  and  of  a  lack  of  personal  experience  of  the 
impelling  power  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Yet  over  against  this  apathy  is  placed  the  growing 
interest  in  Latin-American  lands.  Political  develop- 
ments and  even  wars  and  revolutions  have  forced 
certain  problems  upon  the  public  attention.  Confer- 
ences between  Argentina,  Brazil,  Chile  and  the  United 
States  concerning  Mexican  problems  have  brought 
these  powerful  nations  of  South  America  to  the  favor- 
able attention  of  diplomats  and  citizens  alike.  Com- 
merce and  trade,  affecting  the  tables  and  the  pocket- 
books  of  most  North  Americans  to  a  slight  degree  at 
least,  link  North  and  South.  A  better  mutual  under- 
standing is  due  to  visits  of  eminent  statesmen,  like 
Ex-President  Roosevelt,  Lord  Bryce  and  Secretaries 
Bryan  and  Root,  of  scientific  expeditions  and  their 
influential  heads,  and  especially  of  such  religious 
leaders  as  Drs.  Mott,  Speer  and  Clark.  Then  force- 
ful missionaries  and  secretaries,  like  Bishops  Kin- 
solving  and  Stuntz  and  Dr.  Harry  Guinness,  have 
done  much  within  recent  years  to  enlighten  and  in- 


i68  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

spire  their  readers  and  hearers,  as  they  have  discussed 
this  last  land  of  desire.  The  northward  flowing 
stream  of  Latin- American  students  has  supplied  at 
many  centers  a  group  of  interpreters  of  their  own 
countrymen,  as  they  have  mingled  with  the  great  mass 
of  their  fellows  in  educational  institutions  and  at  col- 
lege Christian  conferences.  Literature,  too,  is  largely 
responsible  for  the  increasing  respect  for  and  interest 
in  the  peoples  and  problems  of  our  Latin  neighbors. 

Almost  universal  ignorance  as  to  things  Latin- 
American  and  the  consequent  apathy  concerning  them, 
with  the  slowly  awakening  interest  on  the  part  of  a 
few,  call  for  a  constructive  program  of  education. 
Arguments  for  a  campaign  of  instruction  as  the  basis 
of  any  intelligent  scheme  of  Christian  work  are  not 
far  to  seek.  Commissions  I  and  II  had  revealed  vast 
areas  unoccupied  and  great  multitudes  unreached  by 
the  evangelical  message.  This  is  what  Bishop  Oldham 
referred  to  in  the  discussion  as  "the  size  of  the  job,'* 
concerning  which  he  said :  "Our  people  like  big 
things,  and  they  are  profoundly  moved  when  you  put 
before  them  even  the  physical  meaning  of  the  prob- 
lem. I  do  not  know  any  congregation  in  North 
America  that  does  not  love  to  hear  that  Brazil  alone 
is  as  big  as  the  United  States,  that  there  is  room  in 
its  vast  territories  for  new  rivers  to  be  discovered, 
even  if  there  continue  to  be  'rivers  of  doubt.'  They 
are  interested  to  hear  of  a  land  so  big  that  you  can 
lose  everybody  in  it  except  a  certain  ex-President." 
Self-interest  also  requires  this  knowledge,  since  in  a 


THE  HOME  FULCRUM  169 

reflex  way  Latin-American  politics,  education,  and 
social  and  religious  conditions  affect  other  nations, 
particularly  the  United  States.  Helping  to  solve  the 
educational,  social  and  religious  problems  of  those 
countries  will  augment  their  peace  and  prosperity  and 
hence  increase  the  stability  and  wealth  of  the  world. 
As  students  of  Christian  efficiency,  valuable  sugges- 
tions are  derivable  from  an  unprejudiced  study  of  the 
failures  and  successes  of  the  Roman  Church  in  Latin 
America.  Do  we  lack  the  heroic  and  self-sacrificing 
in  our  lives  as  Christian  workers?  The  life-stories  of 
evangelical  missionaries,  national  and  foreign,  supply 
this  inspiration  to  well-doing.  Dr.  Grenfell  in  his 
perilous  Labrador  ministry  is  no  more  stimulating 
than  many  unsung  heroes  and  heroines  of  Moravian 
missions  in  Guiana,  than  Grubb  in  his  early  ex- 
periences in  the  Paraguayan  Chaco,  or  than  the  starv- 
ing missionary  company  headed  by  Captain  Gardiner 
in  Tierra  del  Fuego.  As  the  Great  Commission  does 
not  read,  *'Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature  except  the  Latin  Americans," 
and  as  they  sorely  need  that  gospel,  we  should  have 
in  our  minds  and  hearts  a  bill  of  particulars  that  will 
supply  the  sufficient  motive. 

The  Commission's  report  cautions  us  to  bear  in 
mind  the  misleading  character  of  comparative  statis- 
tics of  numerical  need.  Thus  South  America  has  as 
high  a  ratio  of  missionaries  to  the  population  as  some 
Asiatic  countries.  Its  greater  claims  are  realized  only 
when  one  recalls  the  sparsity  of  population  and  the 


170  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

inadequate  means  of  communication  there  in  com- 
parison with  those  of  Japan  and  India.  Nor  should 
South  America  be  considered  as  a  unit  in  such  mat- 
ters. Even  the  one  country  of  Brazil  varies  greatly 
in  its  different  states.  Thus  while  the  republic  as  a 
whole  is  said  to  have  one  missionary  to  90,000  in- 
habitants, in  North  Brazil  there  is  one  to  200,000  in- 
habitants, and  these  populations  are  thinly  scattered 
over  almost  interminable  stretches  of  plain,  mountain 
and  jungle — much  of  it  being  almost  unequalled  in 
its  deadly  climate.  We  were  also  asked  to  remember 
that  Latin-American  prices  are  so  much  higher  in 
most  republics  that  a  given  sum  of  money  will  not 
buy  as  much  as  in  most  mission  countries;  and,  fur- 
ther, that  the  aesthetic  sense  of  Latins  and  in  some 
sections  the  climate  demand  unusually  substantial  and 
well-built  plants.  In  view  of  these  financial  dif- 
ferences, the  statement  of  expenditures  by  eleven  of 
the  leading  Societies,  having  work  in  Latin  America 
and  also  in  other  parts  of  the  mission  field,  is  some- 
what disappointing.  In  the  year  19 13- 14,  these 
Societies  expended  on  Latin-American  work  $1,655,- 
010  while  in  their  other  missions  the  expenditure  was 
$10,326,194.  That  is,  they  invested  in  Latin  fields  a 
little  less  than  one-sixth  of  the  amount  sent  to  other 
lands,  though  the  purchasing  power  of  money  was 
far  less  there  than  in  the  other  countries. 

A  survey,  largely  statistical,  of  what  was  being 
done  in  the  field  under  consideration,  for  which  the 
home  base  is  responsible,  occupied  about  a  fourth  of 


THE  HOME  FULCRUM  171 

the  report.  There  are  sixty-five  sending  Societies 
working  for  the  evangelization  of  Latin  America, 
divided  among  the  sending  lands  as  follows :  Canada, 
three;  the  United  States,  forty-six;  Great  Britain, 
twelve;  New  Zealand,  one;  international  Societies, 
three.  These  numbers  are  somewhat  misleading  to 
the  average  layman,  because  they  include  Societies 
some  of  which  send  out  missionaries  and  leave  them, 
to  shift  largely  for  themselves,  and  others  of  which 
have  resources  so  small  as  to  be  totally  unable  to  da 
any  educational  or  institutional  work  worthy  the 
name.  With  these  sixty-five  sending  Societies  there 
are  thirty-seven  auxiliary  or  cooperating,  non-sending 
Societies.  The  seven  Latin-American  countries  in 
which  the  largest  number  of  sending  Societies  are  at 
work  are  the  following:  Argentina,  nineteen;  Mexico, 
seventeen;  Brazil  and  Porto  Rico,  thirteen  each;  and 
British  Guiana  and  Cuba  twelve  each ;  Central  America 
and  Porto  Rico,  sixteen  each;  Brazil,  fifteen;  British 
Guiana  and  Jamaica,  thirteen  each. 

Some  of  the  financial  items  are  these.  The  appro- 
priations for  Latin  America  by  the  largest  Boards 
were  tabulated  for  five  five-year  periods,  from  1889 
to  1914  inclusive.  The  totals  of  1889-1894  and  1909- 
1914  respectively  were  $3,659,858.23  and  $10,565,- 
000.05,  an  increase  in  twenty-five  years  of  nearly 
threefold  the  appropriations  of  the  first  five  years. 
An  analysis  of  the  expenditures  in  Latin  America  of 
twenty- four  North  American  Societies  shows  how 
every  dollar  contributed  is  used  when  subdivided  for 


172  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

these  purposes:  For  salaries,  31.8  cts. ;  for  support 
of  native  work,  28.5  cts. ;  evangelistic  work,  14.6  cts. ; 
work  among  unevangelized  Indians,  9.3  cts.;  new 
property  and  school  buildings,  7.2  cts.;  special  work, 
3.7  cts.;  medical  work,  3.1  cts.;  literary  work,  1.2 
cts.;  and  for  industrial  work,  six  mills  only. 

An  attempt  to  discover  what  causes  had  led  to  large 
gifts  to  missions  in  Latin  America  was  only  partially 
successful;  yet  it  seemed  to  indicate  that  in  a  majority 
of  cases  the  impulse  came  from  a  visit  to  some  of 
those  republics.  Dr.  Chester,  in  the  discussion,  stated 
that  in  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church  three  men 
gave  about  one-twelfth  of  their  Board's  entire  mis- 
sionary income,  and  that  not  one  of  them  had  visited 
the  fields.  Preliminary  prayer  and  then  sitting  down 
beside  them  and  telling  them  the  facts  fully  had  been 
the  means  used.  A  layman  of  another  Church  after 
visiting  Cuba  began  a  work  there  which  he  thus 
describes:  "What  led  me  to  become  interested  was 
that  I  had  often  heard  of  this  cut-off  district  east  of 
the  mountain  range,  with  a  population  of  25,000  and 
no  Protestant  force  to  help  them.  I  promised  to 
finance  the  whole  undertaking  for  a  year.  I  have 
never  had  a  place  to  stop  and  have  invested  to  date 
about  $39,000  in  the  work  in  eastern  Cuba."  He 
began  the  first  year  by  providing  funds  for  five  chapels 
and  five  Cuban  workers.  The  administration  of  the 
mission  was  left  to  his  Society,  of  course. 

The  home  base  cares  for  other  than  strictly  Latin- 
American  constituencies  in  those  lands.     A  very  im- 


THE  HOME  FULCRUM  175 

portant  enterprise  of  this  sort  is  securing  ministers  for 
churches  for  EngHsh-speaking  peoples  in  port  cities. 
Thus  the  Congress  held  one  of  its  evening  sessions 
in  the  Union  Church  of  Panama,  and  was  also  in- 
debted greatly  to  its  pastor  for  the  manifold  services 
rendered  to  its  delegates.  In  Mexico  City  also  is  a 
Union  Church  aided  by  the  North  American  Com« 
mittee  on  Anglo-American  Communities  Abroad.  An- 
other exceedingly  important  work  of  the  same  Com- 
mittee is  a  ''Tourist  Guide,  Missions  and  English  Ser- 
vices, Latin  America,"  prepared  by  a  committee  of 
which  Dr.  Speer  is  chairman  and  which  has  been  dis- 
tributed to  the  number  of  about  ten  thousand  copies 
for  the  use  of  travelers  and  immigrants  to  those 
republics. 

Latin-American  students  in  the  sending  countries 
constitute  a  most  important  opportunity  for  dwellers 
at  the  home  base.  In  191 5  it  was  estimated  that  two 
thousand  of  them  were  studying  in  sixty-four  institu- 
tions of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  They  seek  an 
education  for  the  sake  of  service  to  their  home  lands ; 
and  when  returning  thither,  they  interpret  in  daily 
life  and  conversation  those  experiences  that  have  im- 
pressed them  most  deeply.  They  come  from  wealthy 
and  influential  families,  for  the  most  part,  and  return 
to  become  leaders  in  commerce,  in  the  professions  and 
as  captains  of  industry.  These  ambitious  and  gifted 
men  appreciate  to  the  full  the  genuine  friendship  of 
Christian  people  and  the  fellowship  found  in  Christian 
institutions  and  homes.     The  early  days  and  months 


174  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

of  their  stay  in  a  new  land  are  the  critical  ones,  and 
Christian  help  should  not  be  lacking  then  especially. 
Sympathy  and  friendship  will  react  favorably  as  they 
return  home,  while  neglect,  ridicule  and  harshness  will 
be  a  distinct  hindrance  to  the  evangelical  cause  in 
Latin  America.  Though  societies  like  Corda  Fratres 
and  Cosmopolitan  Clubs  are  very  helpful  here,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  particularly  its 
Student  Department,  can  impart  a  more  warmly  Chris- 
tian touch  than  those  excellent  secular  organizations. 
Happily,  it  has  been  continually  aggressive  in  its  con- 
tact and  helpfulness  to  those  in  colleges  of  the  United 
States,  through  its  Committee  to  Promote  Friendly 
Relations  among  Foreign  Students. 

Home  base  plans  for  the  promotion  of  prayer  for 
Latin  lands  are  various,  though  not  as  generally  em- 
ployed as  could  be  desired.  Prayer  calendars  are  the 
most  commonly  used  among  these  helps,  and  when 
supplemented  by  special  leaflets  for  specific  Latin  fields, 
they  have  aided  the  cause.  Three  Societies  report  the 
existence  of  leagues  of  prayer  for  missions.  These 
organizations  communicate  by  letter  or  printed  page 
calls  for  prayer  in  which  special  needs  and  workers 
are  mentioned.  What  has  proved  helpful  to  the  Con- 
gregationalists  and  the  Northern  Baptists  and  Meth- 
odists should  be  more  widely  used  in  this  cause. 

The  Commission  found  many  suggestions  in  the 
experience  of  North  American  workers  as  it  investi- 
gated the  methods  and  means  employed  at  present  in 
developing  an  interest  in  Latin-American  missions.    In 


THE  HOME  FULCRUM  175 

local  congregations  sermons  and  special  addresses 
may  be  effectively  used  to  bring  the  field  before  large 
audiences.  It  could  not  recommend  strongly  the  use 
of  general  and  church  periodicals  for  the  purpose  of 
promotion,  since  they  have  little  that  is  to  the  point. 
Even  The  Missionary  Review  of  the  World  had  diffi- 
culty in  securing  suitable  articles  on  these  lands. 
Prayer-meetings  seldom  include  that  part  of  the  world 
in  the  program  of  subjects.  Even  mission  study 
classes  have  done  relatively  little  for  Latin  America. 
Sunday  schools  and  young  people's  societies  report 
scant  attention  paid  to  this  subject.  Women's  mis- 
sionary societies  are  more  alive  to  the  importance  of 
Latin  countries  than  the  Church  at  large.  Through 
special  programs,  appropriate  leaflets  and  attractive 
articles  they  acquaint  their  constituencies  concerning 
conditions  and  the  work  being  done. 

In  our  day  of  great  missionary  conferences  one 
would  think  that  through  such  channels  at  least  much 
might  be  done  to  promote  the  cause.  Yet  with  the 
exception  of  the  Presbyterians,  Methodists  and  South- 
ern Baptists,  who  place  it  on  the  same  level  as  other 
fields,  as  does  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement, 
even  South  America  is  still  the  "Neglected  Continent." 
The  greatest  exception  to  this  general  rule  is  the  Mis- 
sionary Education  Movement  which  provides  for  its 
adequate  presentation  on  its  influential  platforms. 

This  last  named  organization  is  foremost  also  in 
providing  a  literature  of  promotion  for  Latin  America. 
Hitherto  it  had  provided  study  text-books  for  South 


376  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

America,  which  have  been  used  extensively  and 
profitably  by  the  Presbyterian,  Methodist  and  Baptist 
young  people.  Its  program  for  19 16-17  surpasses  all 
previous  efforts,  as  the  list  includes  nearly  half  a  dozen 
books  for  study  use,  besides  the  full  report  of  the 
Panama  Congress  and  the  present  volume,  to  be  used 
for  reference.  The  women's  Central  Committee  on 
the  United  Study  of  Missions  has  sold  about  sixty 
thousand  copies  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Clark's  "The  Gospel 
in  Latin  Lands,"  and  the  Council  of  Women  for  Home 
Missions  report  between  one  hundred  and  fifty  and 
two  hundred  thousand  books  on  Latin-American  and 
Home  Missions  as  used  for  promotion  purposes.  The 
Student  Volunteer  Movement  for  Foreign  Missions 
makes  the  cause  prominent  not  only  on  its  quadrennial 
Convention  platform,  but  also  in  its  sectional  meetings 
and  in  the  presentation  of  fields  in  colleges  and  uni- 
versities. Through  six  of  its  own  volumes  and  six 
published  by  the  Missionary  Education  Movement  its 
study  classes  have  gotten  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
Latin  fields.  Class  enrolment  showed  for  nine  years 
an  attendance  ranging  from  forty-four  to  over  three 
thousand  annually.  That  such  studies  are  not  in  vain 
is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  of  over  five  thousand 
student  volunteers  sailing  between  1907-14  inclusive, 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-two  went  to  Latin  America. 
Other  organizations  furthering  missions  in  Latin 
America  are  the  great  Bible  Societies  through  their 
periodicals  and  platform  presentation  of  Bible  work; 
the    general    Young    Men's    Christian    Association 


THE  HOME  FULCRUM  177 

through  public  addresses,  publications,  photographs 
and  reports;  the  indirectly  helpful  propaganda  of  the 
Pan-American  Union  with  its  palatial  headquarters  in 
Washington;  and  the  conference  at  Lake  Mohonk, 
which  includes  Latin  lands  in  its  program,  as  also 
Clark  University's  lectures  and  conferences. 

Methods  for  attracting  attention  and  imparting  the 
desired  information  and  inspiration,  in  addition  to 
those  already  mentioned,  are  both  varied  and  ingen- 
ious. Maps,  pictures,  stereopticon  talks,  dramatic  pre- 
sentations and  even  pageants  have  been  employed  for 
such  purposes.  Ten  Boards  have  made  special  pro- 
vision for  interesting  children. 

Once  more  the  Commission  went  through  the  cate- 
gories in  reply  to  the  question,  What  measures  are  re- 
quired to  secure  adequate  support  of  Christian  work  in 
Latin  America?  In  brief  the  answer  is,  Do  all  that 
you  have  done  heretofore,  with  greater  energy,  with 
enlarging  conceptions  and  with  fuller  cooperation. 
Prayer  again  led  the  van,  and  ten  suggestions  for 
making  intercession  more  effective  were  noted.  The 
ninth  was  new  and  worthy  of  reproducing :  "The  pub- 
lication in  a  magazine,  or  a  circular  letter  to  members 
of  prayer  groups,  of  answers  to  prayer  in  the  fields 
of  Christian  work  in  Latin  America  should  be  ar- 
ranged as  an  assurance  to  faith  and  an  aid  to  prayers 
of  thanksgiving."  The  first  one  was  also  important, 
urging  missionaries  to  send  to  the  home  base  lists  of 
specific  objects  of  prayer  to  be  printed  for  general 
and  for  private  use. 


178  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Anent  the  portrayal  of  the  spiritual  needs  of  Latin 
countries,  the  importance  of  humility  and  a  recogni- 
tion of  similar  weaknesses  in  the  sending  countries  was 
put  very  happily.  That  section  concludes  with  a  state- 
ment made  on  the  subject  by  a  friend  of  the  cause, 
who  writes :  "I  do  not  believe  in  anti-Catholic  prop- 
aganda here  or  in  South  America,  except  it  be  full 
of  love.  Place  emphasis  first  on  the  fact  that  fifty 
per  cent,  of  the  thinking  men  of  South  America  are 
not  in  full  sympathy  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
and  its  teaching.  If  their  own  Church  does  not  at- 
tract them,  we  should  endeavor  to  do  so.  Emphasize, 
secondly,  that  many  of  their  altruistic  men  are  enemies 
of  religion,  because  they  want  to  help  their  people  to 
better  things,  and  they  believe  religion  is  hindering. 
If  they  feel  thus,  their  own  Church  cannot  help  them. 
We  must  do  so.  A  patient  process  of  education,  such 
as  we  have  used  to  overcome  general  missionary  in- 
difference at  the  home  base,  ought  to  be  undertaken,  but 
on  the  lines  indicated  just  above." 

Brotherly  relations  with  Latin  Americans  can  be 
strengthened  through  church  leadership  in  communities 
where  they  are  temporarily  residing,  particularly  in 
large  university  centers;  through  a  free  interchange 
of  thought  and  of  directed  observation  in  lands  where 
Latins  or  Anglo-Saxons  are  strangers ;  through  intro- 
ductions given  by  missionaries  to  merchants  or 
students  going  abroad,  thus  securing  them  friends  and 
helpers  in  need;  through  a  union  of  Societies  for  pro- 
moting friendly  relations;  through  personal  calls  by 


THE  HOME  FULCRUM  179 

missionaries  on  furlough  upon  persons  from  Latin 
America;  through  inviting  students  and  other  com- 
petent speakers  to  address  various  classes  upon  their 
country  and  its  present  outlook — a  suggestion  help- 
ful enough,  if  the  speaker  has  a  facile  use  of  English, 
but  harmful  to  the  cause  with  a  halting,  indistinct 
speaker;  through  a  study  with  Latins  of  problems 
facing  them  at  home  which  find  partial  solution  in  the 
experience  of  other  countries;  and  through  the  pro- 
motion of  personal  religious  work  with  those  ready 
for  it.  All  this  should  be  done  in  the  spirit  suggested 
by  Dr.  Mott :  "That  race  will  be  most  blessed  which 
gives  its  best  with  generous  hand,  not  in  fear  and 
not  with  ulterior  motives,  but  with  sincere  recognition 
of  all  that  is  good  in  others  and  with  unselfish  motives ; 
and  which  in  all  its  intercourse  tries  to  see  with  the 
other's  eyes  and  to  sympathize  with  the  other's 
hopes." 

Though  statements  concerning  literature  had  be- 
come repetitious,  the  emphasis  on  providing  material 
that  has  a  human  interest  and  written  in  a  style 
which  is  attractive  is  most  important.  "The  Com- 
mission believes  that  every  Christian  worker  entering 
Latin  America  for  life  service  should  give  considera- 
tion to  literary  style  and  force  in  writing,  and  that 
the  faculties  of  observation  should  be  exercised  in- 
telligently and  persistently,  based  on  a  progressive 
study  of  conditions  at  the  home  base  and  the  best 
methods  of  appealing  to  the  imagination  and  will 
through  the  printed  page."     Some  exceedingly  good 


i8o  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

hints  relating  to  photography  as  helpful  to  the  literary 
and  platform  propaganda,  and  as  requiring  previous 
mastery  of  the  art,  might  have  been  taken  from  the 
chairman's  own  experiences  in  successful  field  photog- 
raphy. 

The  plea  for  more  frequent  and  better  coached  dep- 
utations from  the  home  base  to  Latin  fields  was 
most  timely  and  helpful.  It  might  have  been  more 
closely  linked  with  what  is  said  of  publicity,  as  one 
main  function  of  deputations  is  to  use  information 
and  inspiration  derived  from  missionary  visitation  to 
stir  the  churches  and  the  general  public.  Yet  the 
Commission  had  a  wider  objective  in  that  section  of 
its  report,  as  too  little  systematic  work  has  been  done 
looking  toward  the  most  effective  publication  of 
dynamic  material.  A  development  of  the  Southern 
News  Bureau,  or  a  broader  scheme  in  the  special  in- 
terests of  Latin  America,  would  do  much  for  the 
cause  of  evangelical  missions. 

A  last  word  was  said  as  to  education  in  matters 
Latin-American,  especially  those  affecting  spiritual  and 
moral  issues.  In  twelve  concise  propositions — though 
two  are  long — the  best  that  can  be  done  through  that 
medium  w^as  set  forth  most  practically.  If  facts  are 
the  fuel  of  missionary  fires,  and  if  reading  and  study 
are  the  brush-hooks  and  axes  for  making  them  usable, 
this  section  alone  is  worth  much. 

As  only  one  session  was  devoted  to  the  "Home 
Base,"  and  as  even  that  period  was  shortened  by  other 
business,  the  discussion  was  less  full  than  usual.    Dr. 


THE  HOME  FULCRUM  i8i 

Browning  reminded  defenders  of  missions  that  the 
objection  against  work  in  South  America  could  be  met 
by  Roman  Catholicism's  best  representatives  who 
would  probably  reiterate  what  a  bishop  of  that  Church 
said  to  an  evangelical  missionary  when  he  came  to 
Chile :  "I  am  glad  to  welcome  you  to  this  land.  We 
cannot  manage  it.  Moreover,  we  have  lost  our  hold 
on  the  population.  If  you  can  bring  any  inspiration 
to  our  people,  I  for  one  shall  be  glad  to  welcome  yoy 
to  a  part  in  our  work."  In  that  republic  there  are 
about  seven  hundred  priests  of  whom  three  hundred 
are  in  teaching  or  other  positions,  leaving  four 
hundred  for  the  regular  church  work  of  almost  four 
millions,  or  nearly  ten  thousand  people  to  a  single 
priest.  As  Chile  is  better  provided  than  many  other 
sections,  one  Catholic  preaching  priest  for  ten 
thousand  of  the  population  is  perhaps  a  safe  estimate 
for  all  Latin  America.  He  certainly  needs  the  help 
welcomed  by  this  enlightened  bishop. 

Bishop  Lambuth  urged  the  home  base  to  embrace 
in  its  poHcy  the  possibility  of  every  person's  hearing 
the  gospel,  and  that  mainly  through  the  national 
Churches,  working  out  from  all  centers  of  twenty 
thousand  people  where  a  strong  missionary  should  be 
resident.  He  pleaded  also  for  a  vertical  as  well  as  a 
horizontal  occupation  of  the  field,— for  a  plan  that 
w^ould  reach  various  classes,  high  and  low  alike. 

Bishop  McConnell  desired  to  emphasize  for  the  con- 
sideration of  friends  at  home  the  words  of  Phillips 
Brooks,  said  of  Japan,— that  it  is  the  business  of  the 


i82  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Christian  Church  to  take  the  Lord  Jesus  to  these  lands 
and  leave  Him  there,  that  there  may  be  worked  out 
any  form  of  Christianity  that  may  prove  to  be  fitted 
best  for  the  people  of  that  country. 

The  Rev.  Stuart  McNairn  spoke  of  the  viewpoint  of 
the  British  public  which  criticises  missions  in  Latin 
lands.  Again  and  again  the  clergy  had  said  to  him: 
"The  Roman  Catholic  Church,  our  sister  Church,  is 
already  in  possession  of  the  field.  It  is  mere  im- 
pertinence to  attempt  to  work  in  that  field."  His  re- 
sponse to  them  was  this:  "Whatever  the  Church  of 
Rome  feels  about  it,  the  people  of  South  America 
want  us  and  need  us.  Every  republic  in  that  continent 
has  altered  its  constitution  in  order  that  Protestant 
evangelical  work  may  be  carried  on  within  its  borders." 
English  laymen  objectors  were  reminded  that  British 
bondholders  were  getting  millions  a  week  in  South 
American  dividends,  and  that  it  was  time  that  they 
should  do  something  for  that  continent. 

Bishop  Brown  told  two  personal  incidents  to  illus- 
trate the  importance  of  prayer  in  Latin  missions — the 
power  upon  his  own  life  in  Brazil  of  old  Bishop 
White's  daily  intercession  for  him,  and  the  picture  of 
a  layman's  home  in  which  he  found  all  the  members  of 
a  family,  even  the  three-year  old  boy,  praying  for 
definite  persons  on  the  mission  field,  each  choosing 
his  or  her  own  missionary. 

The  home  base  is  where  the  army  of  gospel  con- 
quest is  to  be  recruited  for  Latin  America.  Once  more 
the  challenge  rang  out  for  many  and  well-prepared 


THE  HOME  FULCRUM  183 

volunteers.  The  ministry  has  the  key  to  many  young 
Hves  in  its  hands.  The  minister  can  open  doors  of 
vision  through  which  lands  of  the  Southern  Cross 
will  burst  upon  expectant  eyes  in  a  way  to  allure 
young  men  and  women  to  those  countries.  High  stand- 
ards are  required  for  such  fields,  and  a  better  prep- 
aration is  requisite  than  for  some  other  mission  coun- 
tries. The  demand  is  likewise  a  many-sided  one, 
calling  for  varied  talents  and  gifts. 

It  was  not  at  all  surprising  that  the  last  paragaph 
of  the  printed  report  presented  the  Commission's  chal- 
lenge of  enlargement  and  reenforcement, — stronger 
work  in  old  stations,  extension  to  new  centers,  the 
entry  of  Societies  not  represented  hitherto  in  this 
part  of  the  world  field.  This  program  of  enlargement 
and  the  materialization  of  plans  looking  toward 
greater  cooperation  and  hence  less  waste,  the  proposed 
establishment  of  evangelical  churches  in  unoccupied 
regions  and  among  aboriginal  races  as  the  citadels  of 
spiritual  conquistadores,  can  but  hearten  the  home 
base  and  supply  the  field  forces  with  the  needed  sinews 
of  war  and  the  hearts  of  brave  men  and  women  de- 
manded for  Latin  America's  uplift. 

Though  not  included  in  the  report  of  this  Commis- 
sion, a  discussion  of  the  important  theme,  'Training 
and  Efficiency  of  Missionaries,"  is  summarized  here, 
since  it  is  a  matter  entrusted  by  the  missionary 
Societies  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  to  the 
Board  of  Missionary  Preparation.  Wednesday  after- 
noon was  devoted  to  its  presentation  by  Director  Frank 


i84  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

K.  Sanders,  Ph.D.,  of  that  Board.  He  recapitulated 
the  history  of  the  organization  from  its  estabHshment 
by  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of  North  America 
in  19 1 2,  with  an  account  of  five  objectives  already 
accomplished  or  in  prospect:  (i)  The  production  of 
varied  literature  for  missionary  candidates,  beginning 
with  the  investigation  of  certain  types  of  service  and 
ascertaining  the  most  effective  preparation  for  such 
tasks;  (2)  a  similar  investigation  of  the  six  great 
fields, — including  Latin  America  whose  report  was 
prepared  by  Dr.  Speer  and  his  committee, — with 
definite  suggestions  as  to  how  to  prepare  for  each; 
(3)  the  study  of  missionary  administration  quite 
largely  from  the  candidate's  point  of  view;  (4)  the 
general  service  of  a  candidate  secretary  at  large,  so  well 
fulfilled  by  Dr.  Sanders;  and  (5)  the  standardiza- 
tion of  institutions  in  respect  to  missionary  teaching 
and  the  preparation  of  candidates.  What  he  sought 
of  members  of  the  Congress  was  their  practical  sug- 
gestions as  to  preparation  for  Latin  America,  which 
the  commissions  had  only  occasionally  and  briefly 
touched  upon. 

From  Cuba  came  the  quick  response,  through  Senor 
Gonzalez :  "We  expect  all  the  foreign  missionaries  to 
know  our  history,  to  know  our  society,  to  know  our- 
selves. The  more  a  missionary  studies  all  the  factors 
that  have  produced  the  Latin  civilization  and  the  Latin 
way  of  thinking  and  the  way  the  Latins  have  of  ex- 
pressing themselves,  and  how  they  came  to  have  their 
particular  institutions,  the  better  will  it  be  for  him. 


THE  HOME  FULCRUM  185 

.  .  .  It  is  true  that  every  missionary  has  to  preach 
Christ  and  Him  crucified.  But  the  more  points  of  con- 
tact you  have,  the  more  open  ways  there  are  by  which 
you  can  preach  that  Christ  and  that  Christ  crucified, 
the  better.  And  then  we  expect  you  will  sympathize 
with  us  in  all  our  trials,  tribulations  and  troubles.  We 
expect  the  missionary  will  preach  the  gospel  but  that 
he  will  never  preach  American  Christianity.  ...  I 
mean  the  work  must  be  done  as  Paul  did  his,  as  I 
understand  history.  .  .  .  Let  him  bring  Christ  and 
let  Christ  and  the  gospel  bring  the  national  type;  and 
that  type  will  grow,  and  will  grow  more  easily  and 
strongly  and  will  have  deeper  root  in  the  public  con- 
science.'* 

In  part  of  a  paragraph  from  Professor  Monteverde's 
address  are  suggestions  as  to  two  classes  to  be  reached, 
who  must  be  prepared  for.  "In  order  to  speak  to 
those  who  are  skeptical,  one  must  be  familiar  with  all 
that  which  we  call  materialism.  He  must  know  who 
the  great  writers  are  in  this  field,  and  he  must  know 
their  works.  And  when  it  comes  to  speaking  to 
Roman  Catholics,  he  must  know  their  doctrines  and 
how  they  came  to  be.  He  must  also  know  how  to 
defend  himself  from  their  attacks.  He  must  know 
the  character  of  the  Latin  American.  He  must 
realize  the  necessity  of  being  very  careful  with  the 
words  he  uses.  He  must  remember  how  sensitive 
these  people  are.  And  with  all  such  high  ideals,  he 
must  have  a  social  nature  and  be  able  to  meet  them 
on  their  own  ground."     Thirty  others,  nine  being 


i86  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Latin  Americans  and  five  of  the  thirty  being  women 
delegates,  spoke  upon  the  studies,  linguistic  and  other- 
wise, to  be  pursued,  upon  the  varied  forms  of  work  to 
be  done  and  upon  the  conservation  of  time  and  health 
that  the  newly  arrived  missionary  may  most  efficiently 
carry  out  his  mission.  It  is  possible  to  add  only  one 
other  paragraph  from  a  delegate  who  represented 
the  more  conservative  element  in  the  Congress. 

This  man,  the  Rev.  Eduardo  C.  Pereira,  Dr.  Speer 
characterizes  as  the  ''writer  of  the  best  Portuguese 
grammar  used  in  Brazil,  a  scholar  and  a  Christian 
statesman."  He  said  in  part:  "There  are  several 
requisites  for  a  successful  missionary  in  Latin 
America.  First,  he  must  not  forget  his  literary  and 
theological  courses.  The  Brazilian  people  will  not 
respect  the  man  who  does  not  know ;  they  respect  only 
the  man  who  does  know.  The  second  requisite  is 
that  he  shall  not  be  too  much  of  a  modernist ;  he  must 
not  be  full  of  modern  things.  The  churches  want 
the  pure,  full  gospel.  A  third  requisite  is  that  he 
must  never  be  proud  or  arrogant.  He  is  to  live  among 
a  very  susceptible  people."  It  was  evident  from  all  of 
these  speakers  that  the  man  or  woman  going  as  a 
missionary  to  Latin  America  must  be  inwardly 
strongly  spiritual,  outwardly  social  and  tactful,  in- 
tellectually fully  furnished  for  every  demand,  and 
with  an  upward  look  and  grip  that  will  enable  God's 
ambassador  to  be  sure  of  knowing  His  will  and  of 
feeling  His  strength  coursing  through  the  life. 


IX 

UNITY'S  FRATERNAL  PROGRAM 

Commission  VIII  on  ''Cooperation  and  the  Promo- 
tion of  Unity,"  with  the  Rev.  Charles  L.  Thompson, 
D.D.,  of  the  Home  Missions  Council,  New  York  as 
chairman,  had  a  subject  which  had  been  trenched  upon 
by  every  other  commission  to  the  extent  not  only  of 
having  "stolen  its  thunder,"  but  of  having  depleted 
its  clouds  of  most  of  their  rain.  It  was  thus  the 
parallel  of  Commission  I.  As  that  discussion  of  sur- 
vey and  occupation  had  necessitated  a  broad  preview 
of  most  of  the  ground  to  be  covered  later  by  the 
other  commissions,  so  this  one  gave  the  backward 
look  and  served  as  a  review  of  certain  points  in  each 
of  the  seven  preceding  it.  Yet  its  more  or  less 
repetitious  character  constituted  its  strength.  Each 
chairman  had  shown  during  the  preceding  days  how 
fundamental  united  hearts  and  cooperating  heads 
and  hands  were  for  the  ideal  carrying  out  of  the 
operations  which  his  commission  had  in  charge.  Now 
came  the  massing  of  hitherto  isolated  facts  whose  joint 
impression  was  more  convincing  and  convicting,  more 
inspiring  and  impelling,  than  had  been  single  units 
presented  one  by  one.  Cooperation  and  unity  as 
presented  at  Panama  were  like  the  pillars  Jachin  and 

187 


j88  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Boaz  which  Solomon  set  up  before  his  temple.  Their 
names  may  have  been  those  of  the  two  donors.  Yet 
their  probable  significance  in  Hebrew  correctly  de- 
scribes the  functions  of  united  cooperation,  as  God 
seems  to  be  declaring  to  His  Church  to-day,  "He 
shall  establish" — unity,  and  "In  it  is  strength" — 
cooperation. 

Occupancy  of  the  field  and  delimitation  of  territory 
as  helpful  thereto  were  considered  at  the  outset.  Com- 
mission I  had  displayed  its  maps  on  three  sides  of  the 
Congress  hall — great  stretches  of  territory  with  only 
here  and  there  a  center  of  evangelical  light  and  power. 
In  only  one  of  these,  that  of  Porto  Rico,  could  one 
see  how  the  thirteen  Societies  were  located  geographi- 
cally; even  in  that  case  the  wall  map  did  not  contain 
denominational  dividing  lines  such  as  appear  in  "The 
Latin  American  Tourist  Guide,"  page  32.  If  this  map 
suggests  the  political  gerrymander,  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  when  American  Societies  entered  that 
island,  the  four  pioneer  Boards  sent  each  a  represen- 
tative to  Dr.  Thompson's  office,  where  they  knelt 
around  the  map  and  prayed  themselves  into  positions 
that  would  not  permit  of  friction  and  duplication  of 
effort.  The  present  map,  as  altered  by  the  later  entry 
of  nine  other  Societies  has  received  its  apparent  gerry- 
mandering intricacies  through  agreement  among 
brethren,  after  the  example  of  Abraham  and  Lot. 

The  same  could  not  be  said  of  certain  other  sec- 
tions of  Latin  America;  though  thus  far  occupation 
has  been  on  so  limited  a  scale,  that  duplication  and 


UNITY'S  FRATERNAL  PROGRAM  189 

friction  are  not  very  noticeable,  Brazil  being  the  most 
open  to  this  weakness.  Indeed,  Porto  Rico  raised  this 
query,  in  spite  of  the  argument  that  as  part  of  the 
United  States  it  might  claim  a  larger  number  of  mis- 
sionaries than  other  portions  of  Latin  America:  **The 
question  emerges  whether  the  wants  of  the  field  could 
not  now  be  met  by  a  smaller  number;  and  if  so,  the 
difficult  following  question  will  be  as  to  how  to  secure 
this  adjustment.  To  effect  the  withdrawal  of  forces 
now  on  the  field  implies  advanced  federation ;  and  yet 
it  is  doubtless  one  of  the  present  demands  of  coopera- 
tion that  there  be  such  a  statesmanlike  view  of  the 
entire  field,  that  a  redistribution  of  forces  may  be 
effected  without  jeopardizing  the  fraternal  relations 
of  the  denominations  to  each  other.  .  .  .  Thus  if 
too  many  Societies  are  operating  in  Porto  Rico,  there 
are  certainly  too  few  in  Central  America.  Denomina- 
tions withdrawing  from  Porto  Rico  and  extending 
their  work  in  Mexico  and  Central  America  could  not 
be  regarded  as  having  lost  prestige  or  opportunity. 
They  will  only  be  using  both  more  strategically  and, 
by  combining  with  other  Societies  in  the  general  ar- 
rangement, be  giving  a  final  view  of  the  solidarity  of 
Protestant  missions." 

Turning  from  questionable  sections,  the  Commis- 
sion suggests  that  the  very  fact  that  a  territory  is 
sparsely  occupied  makes  this  the  time  when  delimita- 
tion of  it  can  be  decided  upon  most  easily.  In  that 
case,  the  entrance  of  later  Societies  would  be  by  ar- 
rangement with  the  original  Boards.     About  the  un- 


190  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

reached  Indians  there  could  be  no  question,  especially 
those  dwelling  in  barbarism  in  mountains  and  forests, 
wholly  without  God  and  without  hope.  Though  living 
in  wretchedness,  they  are  not  without  capacity  for  use- 
ful lives  and  worthy  citizenship.  There  is  little  pros- 
pect that  any  possible  extension  of  Roman  Catholic 
missions  will  prove  adequate  to  meet  their  needs.  As 
separate  evangelical  missions,  touching  here  and  there 
a  wandering  tribe,  cannot  overtake  the  task,  some  con- 
certed plan  seems  to  be  the  only  solution  of  this 
problem. 

A  common  understanding  and  usage,  rather  than 
cooperation,  is  what  is  called  for  under  Commission 
II  on  the  Message.  If  to  people  accustomed  to  a 
united  Church,  we  can  show  a  faith  which  through 
all  its  diversity  has  attained  a  higher  unity  of  love, 
yet  still  maintaining  liberty  of  thought,  evangelicals 
will  speak  to  sympathetic  ears  and  will  find  the  way 
to  open  minds  and  hearts.  The  chairman's  closing 
presentation  of  the  Commission's  view  was  devoted 
largely  to  this  message.  It  must  be  distinctly  evan- 
gelical; it  must  be  spoken  positively,  constructively, 
tenderly;  the  message  must  not  stand  alone,  but  find 
its  incarnation  in  missionaries'  lives  that  truly  enter 
into  Latin- American  experiences;  it  must  go  into 
lowly  homes,  weeping  with  the  tearful  and  healing 
as  it  goes.  Does  anyone  inquire  as  to  emphasis, — 
whether  the  message  to  the  individual  or  its  applica- 
tion to  life,  to  social  or  moral  conditions, — Dr.  Thomp- 
son's reply  is  the  inquiry  made  of  the  birds  flying 


UNITY'S  FRATERNAL  PROGRAM  191 

above  Ancon  Hill :  *'Which  wing  do  you  emphasize 
in  your  flight?  The  finest  chance  for  cooperation  is 
in  the  social  ministries  of  the  gospel.  Only  common 
endeavors  can  lift  communities.  Union  movements 
in  matters  eleemosynary,  education  and  for  moral  re- 
form, are  absolutely  essential." 

Cooperation  in  education  was  too  obviously  desir- 
able to  warrant  anything  more  than  a  roll-call  of 
republics  to  see  how  far  it  had  advanced.  Argentina 
thought  it  too  early  for  union  movements  except  in 
a  theological  school.  Brazil's  three  mission  colleges 
agreed  that  standardized  courses,  examinations  and 
discipline  are  desirable.  The  union  of  Presbyterians 
and  Methodists  in  the  theological  seminary  at  Campi- 
nas w^as  an  inspiration,  present  and  prospective.  Two 
seminaries  were  suggested  as  being  better  than  one, 
however,  both  to  be  union  but  to  be  located  so  as  to 
meet  better  the  needs  of  the  vast  area.  One  union  uni- 
versity in  Brazil  was  desired  for  all  Portuguese-speak- 
ing students.  Chile  is  beginning  a  union  Bible  train- 
ing school  and  might  work  toward  a  union  university. 
Cuba  pleaded  sectional  and  racial  feeling  as  a  reason 
for  little  interest  in  cooperative  educational  plans. 
Mexico,  in  revolutions  oft,  is  nevertheless  forward  in 
this  matter  and  has  in  Coyoacan  College  a  joint  institu- 
tion for  Presbyterians  North  and  South,  while  North- 
ern and  Southern  Baptists  have  a  plan  arranged  for 
joint  academic  and  theological  institutions.  In  Peru 
little  is  achieved,  but  there  is  an  acknowledged  need  of 
common  courses  and  methods  in  their  schools.     Porto 


192  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Rico  finds  help  in  United  States  schools  of  lower 
grades,  and  in  theological  education  it  has  the  Presby- 
terians and  United  Brethren  linked  up  in  a  union 
Seminary  to  which  other  denominations  also  send 
students.  As  previously  recorded,  there  is  a  general 
desire  for  cooperation  in  higher  and  highest  educa- 
tional work,  with  the  apex  in  one  or  more  Christian 
universities  for  Latin  republics. 

Even  more  unanimous  is  the  dissatisfaction  with 
the  present  dearth  of  dynamic  evangelical  literature, 
and  with  the  plethora  of  feeble  denominational  period- 
icals in  place  of  a  very  few  of  the  highest  class.  The 
Commission  quotes  an  illustration  from  Dr.  Arthur 
Brown's  "Unity  and  Missions"  as  suggestive  of  a 
reason  for  union  publications.  An  Anglican  bishop 
conceived  the  idea  of  a  union  catechism.  He  there- 
fore called  a  meeting  of  all  the  missionaries  in  that 
region  and  proposed  an  interdenominational  committee 
to  prepare  such  a  booklet,  suggesting  that  everything 
upon  which  they  agreed  should  be  put  in  the  body  of 
the  catechism,  while  subjects  upon  which  there  was 
disagreement  should  be  relegated  to  an  appendix. 
When  the  work  was  completed,  all  were  impressed 
with  the  strength  of  the  catechism  and  with  the  weak- 
ness of  the  appendix.  Eight  of  the  Latin  republics 
report  some  progress  in  union  publication  and  a  com- 
mon longing  for  improvement  through  cooperation. 
From  Colombia  comes  a  cry  for  union  in  producing 
apologetic  works.  *'The  supply  of  such  literature  is 
inadequate,  and  its  character  is  a  disgrace  to  Protest- 


UNITY'S  FRATERNAL  PROGRAM  193 

ant  civilization.  French  free  thought  is  twenty  times 
better  presented  to  the  readers  of  Colombia  than  is 
evangelical  faith.  Books  on  free  thought  are  more 
numerous,  are  cheaper  and  are  written  in  good 
Spanish.  A  catalogue  of  such  antichristian  literature 
should  be  obtained  and  the  efficient  answers  from  an 
evangelical  point  of  view  should  be  sought  out.  We 
have  a  limited  amount  of  really  excellent  controversial 
literature,  but  where  shall  we  go  for  a  first-class 
modern  apologetic  against  the  ravages  of  free  thought 
and  atheism?" 

Less  was  said  of  the  need  of  cooperation  in  work 
for  women  than  upon  its  relation  to  other  subjects  on 
the  Congress  program.  Mrs.  Westfall  went  farther 
than  others  had  done  in  arguing  for  non-duplication 
of  women's  schools  and  of  other  forms  of  endeavor. 
The  Societies  should  make  a  study  of  all  that  is  done  in 
a  given  field  before  deciding  upon  plans.  If  there  was 
one  kindergarten  already  in  operation  in  a  center,  no 
other  should  be  started  by  a  second  Society,  and  so 
of  nurses'  training  schools,  etc.  By  correlation,  after 
a  careful  study  of  the  situation,  waste  of  inadequate 
funds,  of  workers  and  of  energy  would  be  obviated,  and 
at  the  same  time  a  well-rounded  provision  for  meeting 
the  varied  needs  of  womanhood  would  be  made. 

From  many  angles  the  desirability  of  having  a 
common  understanding  of  certain  items  ecclesiastical 
was  seen.  The  evangelical  Church  in  Latin  fields 
seems  to  be  behind  that  of  other  mission  lands  in  this 
particular.     Discipline  varies,  and  with  it  spring  up 


194  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

abuses  where  members  migrate  from  one  denomination 
or  local  church  to  another.  This  is  especially  noted 
in  Central  America,  where  the  number  of  independent 
missions  with  lax  rules  is  greater  than  that  of  regular 
Boards.  In  Porto  Rico  the  interchange  of  members 
is  so  arranged  that  little  difficulty  arises  from  migra- 
tion. The  Baptists,  Episcopalians  and  Lutherans  are 
not  included  in  this  arrangement,  for  obvious  yet 
regrettable  reasons.  In  not  a  few  countries  differences 
in  salaries  paid  Latin  workers  causes  trouble.  As  Sec- 
retary Cook  puts  it:  "When  we  realize  that  in  one 
of  these  great  Latin  fields  we  have  been  so  subsidizing 
the  Church  as  to  hinder  the  development  of  the  spirit 
of  independence  and  self-support  and  we  begin  to 
tighten  up  the  screws  a  little,  there  are  always  pastors 
who  immediately  move  over  to  another  Communion, 
perhaps  of  the  same  faith  and  order,  where  the  grass 
is  a  little  longer,  the  pasturage  a  little  better ;  and  when 
that  Communion  puts  on  the  screws,  they  simply  move 
on  to  another  where  the  subsidy  is  more  ample."  Dr. 
Cook's  opinion  of  such  men  was  revealed  in  a  case 
narrated  where  a  pastor  had  gone  from  his  own 
denomination  through  two  others  until  he  found  him- 
self with  the  Baptists.  "I  ask  the  question,  *  Where 
will  he  go  when  the  leaves  the  Baptists?'  Nobody 
seemed  to  know,  but  one  brother  very  sweetly  sug- 
gested that  he  would  go  to  Heaven.  Well,  if  he  goes 
to  Heaven  after  that  process,  he  gets  there  by  the 
skin  of  his  teeth." 
Little  was  said  about  cooperation  at  the  home  base, 


UNITY'S  FRATERNAL  PROGRAM  195 

and  little  was  needed  after  Commission  VIFs  full  dis- 
cussion. Insistence  upon  the  principle  that  coopera- 
tion must  be  carried  out  both  at  the  home  base  and 
abroad,  if  it  is  to  be  effective,  was  necessary  in  the 
Commission's  view.  Its  possibility  on  a  large  and 
profitable  scale  was  proved  by  the  Missionary  Educa- 
tion Movement  which  for  years  has  been  eminently  suc- 
cessful through  the  cooperation  of  many  Boards  rep- 
resented in  its  Committee  of  Twenty-eight.  The  Con- 
tinuation Committee  of  the  Edinburgh  Conference  of 
1910  is  a  wider  proof  of  the  helpfulness  of  inter- 
national cooperation  in  Missions;  while  the  Panama 
Congress  itself  met  because  of  mutual  agreements  and 
cooperative  participation.  Such  examples  should  be 
multiplied. 

Two  relatively  new  points  were  mentioned  at  which 
cooperation  was  desirable.  The  first  had  to  do  with 
the  CO  working  of  evangelical  Churches  and  govern- 
ment officials  and  institutions.  Argentina  already  aids 
Mr.  Morris's  schools,  while  Bolivia  and  Brazil  give 
subsidies  to  missionary  institutions  to  a  limited  extent. 
Mr.  Grubb's  work  in  the  Paraguayan  Chaco  is  mapped 
officially  as  being  under  government  patronage,  and  he 
is  regarded  as  the  commissioner  of  those  Indian  ter- 
ritories. As  has  been  seen,  the  success  of  the  Piedras 
Negras  Institute  in  Mexico  is  in  large  part  due  to 
official  recognition  and  help,  as  is  that  of  the  People's 
Institute  in  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Chile  subsidizes  mission- 
ary schools  for  Indians.  Porto  Rican  workers  co- 
operate with  the  United  States  in  sanitary  and  anti- 


196  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

tuberculosis  measures  and  in  the  suppression  of  nui- 
sances and  immoralities.  Cordial  cooperation  between 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  the 
government  in  Uruguay  and  Mexico  suggests  the 
desirability  of  further  missionary  participation  in 
enterprises  looking  toward  the  physical,  social  and 
intellectual  and  moral  betterment  of  the  Latin- Amer- 
ican citizen. 

A  second  more  intangible  but  quite  as  important 
point  of  desirable  contact  between  evangelical  missions 
and  the  Latins  is  in  the  appreciation  of  national  ideals 
and  conformity  thereto,  when  possible.  Thus  in  no 
other  mission  field,  with  the  possible  exception  of 
Japan,  is  nationalistic  feeling  so  intense  as  in  some  of 
the  southern  countries,  Brazil,  Chile,  Mexico  and 
Porto  Rico  in  particular.  This  manifests  itself 
among  evangelicals  chiefly  in  their  desire  for  self- 
direction  in  church  life  and  government.  This  aspira- 
tion by  many  is  considered  to  have  been  the  funda- 
mental reason  for  the  lamentable  division  which  oc- 
curred in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Brazil  several 
years  ago.  Neither  of  the  two  bodies  resulting  from 
the  schism  is  under  the  control  of  extra-national 
organizations.  That  this  self-direction  inspires  the 
Church  to  new  endeavor  and  greater  sacrifice  is  proved 
by  the  fact  that  the  larger  of  these  bodies  received 
last  year  more  new  members  by  confession  of  faith 
than  ever  before,  amounting  to  over  ten  percent,  of 
its  membership.  One  of  these  self-supporting  congre- 
gations, inspired  by  the  spirit  of  nationalism  as  well  as 


UNITY'S  FRATERNAL  PROGRAM  197 

by  deep  religious  conviction,  gave  $15,000  in   19 15 
for  its  local  and  missionary  work. 

The  eventual  goal  of  a  national  evangelical  Church, 
in  place  of  the  present  denominational  divisions,  is  al- 
ready dimly  discernible  in  some  of  the  republics,  and 
also  in  Porto  Rico  where  the  desire  is  most  pro- 
nounced. With  the  example  of  one  great  Roman 
Catholic  Church  always  before  them,  Latins  are  prone 
to  feel  as  described  in  a  sentence  written  by  Professor 
Giovanni  Luzzi:  "Accustomed  as  they  are  to  the 
great  idea  of  the  unity  of  the  Church,  they  have  no 
sympathy  with  our  accentuated  denominationalism." 
Another  motive  for  nationalistic  independence  has 
manifested  itself  in  Mexico  and  seems  to  actuate  cer- 
tain pastors  who  wall  have  nothing  to  do  with  Boards 
from  the  United  States,  identifying  them  with  hated 
foreign  invasion.  They  have  appealed  to  the  patriot- 
ism of  the  people,  and  also  to  their  prejudices,  with 
some  success.  Naturally  this  nationalistic  spirit  among 
Latin  Americans  is  found  more  frequently  among  the 
better  educated,  who  also  happen  to  be  most  influential. 
It  is  plainly  desirable  that  this  spirit  should  not  be 
allowed  to  separate  the  missionaries  from  national 
Churches ;  instead,  without  trying  to  force  denomina- 
tionalism  upon  them,  this  element  of  national  pride 
may  be  used  as  an  incentive  toward  a  united,  self- 
supporting  and  self -propagating  Church,  with  liberty 
of  thought,  yet  united  in  Christ.  Multiplied  evidences 
convinced  the  Commission  that  if  the  appeal  were 
made  to  loyalty  to  the  Word  of   God  and  to  the 


198  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

nation,  rather  than  to  the  denomination,  many  strong 
leaders  would  accept  the  challenge.  Not  a  few  share 
the  conviction  of  an  energetic  young  worker  for  the 
evangelical  cause  who  declined  to  enter  the  Church, 
saying:  "I  feel  that  it  would  narrow  my  influence, 
if  I  joined  any  of  the  denominations.  But  just 
organize  a  national  Church,  and  I  will  be  the  first  to 
join." 

The  suggestion  of  cooperation  with  Roman  Catho- 
lics, as  set  forth  in  the  report  presented  tentatively  to 
the  Congress  at  Panama,  met  with  serious  objection  on 
the  field.  It  was  modified  to  read  as  follows :  "When 
the  inevitable  question  is  raised,  whether  at  any  point 
or  in  any  form  we  may  expect  cooperation  with  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  usual  reply  is  that  such 
an  expectation  is  hopeless.  Moreover,  in  view  of  the 
position  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  toward  the 
evangelical  work,  the  Commission  feels  that  any  sug- 
gestion on  our  part  of  cooperation  with  that  Church 
as  an  organization  is  likely  to  be  misunderstood 
and  to  provoke  responses  that  would  tend  to  defeat 
the  irenic  purposes  we  have  in  our  approach  to  all  in- 
dividual members  of  that  Communion  who  may  be 
willing  to  cooperate  with  us  in  any  branch  of  our  mis- 
sionary activities.'*  With  respect  to  this  change  of 
statement.  Dr.  Thompson  said  in  his  closing  address 
for  the  Commission:  "In  response  to  a  general  de- 
mand from  the  field,  we  have  modified  our  report  so 
that  it  declares  that  there  is  not  now  any  hope  of 
cooperation  of  any  kind,  or  in  any  degree,  with  the 


UNITY'S  FRATERNAL  PROGRAM  199 

Roman  Catholic  Church  as  an  organization.  .  .  . 
We  accept  it  as  a  present  fact ;  we  do  not  accept  it  as 
an  ultimate  fact.  It  is  not  even  now  a  fact  every- 
where. When  Cardinal  Farley  occupies  the  platform 
with  Bishop  Greer  and  other  evangelicals  in  New 
York  to  promote  some  civic  or  social  reform,  it  is  a 
declaration  that  some  time  such  a  scene  may  be  wit- 
nessed in  Buenos  Aires,  or  Rio  de  Janeiro.  We  even 
dare  to  cherish  the  hope  of  an  ultimate  union  of 
Christendom.  We  do  not  believe  in  a  perpetual  post- 
ponement of  an  answer  to  Christ's  prayer." 

When  evidences  of  unity  and  the  desire  for  its  fur- 
ther promotion  had  been  hurtling  in  from  all  the  Com- 
missions and  they  had  been  overshot  by  Commission 
VIII's  combination  columbiad,  the  logical  demand  was 
for  some  provision  whereby  the  campaign  for 
cooperation  and  unity  might  be  made  effective.  Two 
plans  were  urged  by  the  Commission,  and  the  best 
one  of  all  was  supplied  by  a  later  action  of  the  Con- 
gress. The  convening  of  interdenominational  con- 
ferences could  not  be  questioned  as  a  most  valuable 
aid;  for  was  not  the  Panama  gathering  on  Ancon 
Hill  daily  and  hourly  demonstrating  its  fusing  power? 
Reports  from  a  number  of  Latin  republics  testified  to 
the  existence  and  great  value  of  union  meetings,  special 
and  general  in  their  objectives,  which  are  being  held 
regularly.  Their  success  without  a  carefully  wrought 
out  program  indicated  that  after  the  holding  of  the 
post-Congress  regional  conferences,  permanent  and 
better  coordinated  gatherings  would  become  a  regular 


200  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

feature  of  Latin  America's  evangelical  program,  one 
of  whose  most  useful  results  would  inevitably  be  a 
better  acquaintance  and  more  effective  team-work. 
The  deepening  of  the  spiritual  life  would  doubtless 
follow,  no  matter  what  the  special  object  of  any  con- 
ference might  be. 

The  unifying  force  of  prayer  was  equally  em- 
phasized. History  and  personal  experience  have 
shown  its  ability  to  meet  just  such  needs  as  con- 
front missionaries  to  Latin  lands.  The  delicacy 
and  magnitude  of  the  task  are  altogether  baffling 
without  that  wisdom  which  is  promised  where  there 
is  faith  and  no  wavering.  It  creates  a  helpful 
atmosphere  within  which  men  can  plan  and  work 
better  than  when  it  is  absent  and  the  air  is  heavy 
and  lifeless.  Prayer  offered  for  others  is  "like 
a  gun  that  kicks,"  to  borrow  Beecher's  simile;  "part 
of  the  force  of  the  powder  carries  the  bullet  straight 
to  its  mark,  while  the  remainder  reacts  upon  yourself." 
But  if  the  two  or  three  gathered  together  in  Christ's 
name,  with  Him  in  the  midst,  can  effect  miracles,  how 
much  more  powerful  would  be  a  general  prayer  move- 
ment in  Latin  America's  behoof?  And  so  the  Com- 
mission suggested  a  permanent  annual  day  of  united 
thanksgiving  and  intercession  for  those  great  re- 
publics, both  on  the  fields  and  in  the  sending  coun- 
tries. It  further  recommended  the  preparation  of  a 
prayer  or  series  of  prayers  for  unity,  one  of  which  may 
be  used  in  the  regular  worship  of  Sunday  morning 
throughout  the  Latin-American  evangelical  Churches. 


UNITY'S  FRATERNAL  PROGRAM  201 

Like  the  Commission  on  "Home  Base,"  it  called  for 
the  publication  of  a  prayer  calendar,  to  be  used  daily 
in  homes  and  at  private  devotions.  Prayer  circles 
in  large  cities  where  the  interest  warrants  could  be 
held  as  occasion  demanded.  Differences  between 
variant  families  of  Christians  and  the  urgency  of 
pressing  needs  alike  call  for  united  supplication. 
"Rival  sects,"  writes  Professor  Toy,  "lose  sight  of 
their  differences  in  the  presence  of  needs  that  drive 
them  to  God  for  help.  Prayer  is  a  religious  unifier — 
communion  with  the  Deity  is  an  individual  experience 
in  which  all  men  stand  on  common  ground,  where 
ritual  and  dogmatic  accessories  tend  to  fade  or  to 
disappear."  The  Congress  itself  proved  the  efficacy 
of  united  prayer. 

But  the  third  and  best  means  of  promoting  unity 
and  cooperation  in  Latin-American  missions  was 
the  decision  arrived  at  on  Friday  afternoon  when  the 
Congress  voted  to  recommend  that  the  Committee  on 
Cooperation  in  Latin  America  be  enlarged  and  re- 
constituted as  a  consultative  and  advisory  body,  with 
North  American  and  European  sections  acting 
separately  at  present.  The  amended  Section  VI  of 
the  resolution  reads  as  follows :  "That  the  American 
and  Canadian  sections  should,  as  may  be  desired  by  the 
cooperating  Boards,  take  steps  promptly  to  give  effect 
to  the  findings  of  the  various  Commissions  in  the  light 
of  the  discussions  of  the  Congress,  so  far  as  the 
cooperation  of  the  missionary  agencies  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada  are  concerned."     As  more  than 


202  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

three-fifths  of  the  missionary  force  are  sent  by 
Societies  in  Canada  and  the  United  States  which 
already  are  practically  one  in  matters  pertaining  to 
the  lands  concerned,  this  means  prompt  action  looking 
toward  efficiency  and  cooperation.  To  make  that  the 
more  speedily  effective,  the  various  sectional  con- 
ferences mentioned  in  Chapter  XI  scattered  immedi- 
ately on  the  adjournment  of  the  Congress  to  consult 
and  decide  in  regional  groups  what  was  desirable  to 
do  and  to  send  their  findings  to  the  Committee  just 
constituted  for  its  action  and  to  the  Boards  concerned 
for  their  endorsement. 

Though  everything  looks  favorable  for  the  future 
of  Latin-American  cooperation,  the  reader  should 
remember  that  to  change  long-standing  policies  and  to 
readjust  existing  relations,  to  exchange  plants  and 
constituencies,  and  above  all  to  reconcile  the  home  sup- 
porters to  interdenominational  plans,  will  call  for 
patience  and  forbearance.  A  tiny  rift  in  the  lute,  in- 
terrupting the  harmony  of  the  Congress,  was  dis- 
covered at  a  special  meeting  of  those  interested  in 
Mexico  and  the  progress  of  plans  decided  upon  by 
the  Cincinnati  Conference  of  19 14  for  that  republic. 
It  there  appeared  that  the  decisions  made  by  the 
Boards  in  the  United  States  had  in  a  few  cases  been 
misunderstood  and  had  given  rise  to  bitterness  on  the 
ground  of  denominations  having  been  "sold  out"  to 
others  in  whose  polity  those  thus  disposed  of  had  no 
interest.  Probably  political  animosity  toward  the 
United  States  was  partly  responsible  for  this  feeling. 


UNlTY^S  FRATERNAL  PROGRAM  203 

More  than  at  any  other  session  of  the  Congress  did 
the  delegates  lose  their  dead-earnest  solemnity,  when 
half  a  dozen  of  the  speakers  for  this  Commission 
argued  their  points  by  humorous  illustrations,  or  as 
apt  parallels  were  quoted.  Thus  Dr.  Vance  showed 
the  element  in  human  nature  that  must  be  met  in  any 
cooperative  reduction  of  forces  by  the  story  of  a 
negro  minister  of  Orange,  N.  J.,  who  replied  to  the 
question  as  to  whether  there  were  not  too  many 
colored  churches  there  already:  "Yes,  entirely  too 
many,  as  we  have  nine.  We  really  need  only  two, 
mine  and  one  more."  Of  another  sort  was  his  ac- 
count of  the  Matt  H.  Shay,  a  most  powerful  engine 
that  could  pull  unbelievably  long  trains  of  loaded  cars. 
As  Dr.  Vance's  hearers  had  been  skeptical  about  his 
story,  he  interviewed  the  makers  and  learned  that 
with  some  subtraction  it  was  true,  and  that  the  secret 
of  its  wonderful  power  was  the  fact  that  there  were 
really  three  engines, — three  packed  into  one.  Our 
weakness  is  rebuked  by  his  subsequent  appeal :  "Why 
should  we  be  afraid  of  each  other?  Why  should  we 
shy  off  from  each  other?  Why  should  we  suspect 
each  other?" 

Dr.  Chester  showed  the  Congress  how  cooperation 
and  division  of  the  field  could  be  accomplished.  In 
the  Congo  Mission  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Board 
they  could  not  overtake  the  work,  so  Bishop  Lambuth 
of  the  Southern  Methodist  Board  came  to  establish 
a  mission  beside  them.  The  Presbyterians  not  only 
gladly   welcomed   him,   but   they  also   gave   him   his 


204  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

first  church  by  turning  over  a  quantity  of  their  own 
strong  members,  "who  knew  the  Shorter  Catechism 
backwards  and  forwards,"  for  the  Bishop  to  turn 
into  Arminians,  regardless  of  predestination  and  fall- 
ing from  grace. 

Mr.  Revell,  the  New  York  publisher,  told  of  an 
iron  workers'  convention  held  in  Washington,  where 
representatives  of  the  business  from  various  European 
nations  met  with  Americans  to  consult  as  to  their 
mutual  interests.  They  resolved  to  adopt  two 
emblems,  one  to  suggest  the  ruinous  past  and  the  other 
the  better  future.  The  former  represented  a  melting- 
pot  in  which  were  rifles  with  crossed  bayonets  and 
the  legend  above  it,  ''Might  is  Right"  with  the  word 
"Competition"  below;  the  second  emblem  was  an- 
other melting-pot  in  which  were  rifles  with  reversed 
bayonets  and  the  legends,  "Right  is  Might"  and  "Co- 
operation." "Are  the  men  of  this  world  wiser  in 
their  generation  than  the  children  of  light?"  Mr. 
Revell  asked. 

Bishop  McConnell  dwelt  upon  the  conquering  power 
of  a  brotherly  and  spiritual  atmosphere.  "Some  things 
have  to  be  corrected  by  creating  an  atmosphere  in 
which  these  things  perish  of  themselves.  When  I 
was  a  boy  and  got  my  first  glimpses  into  geological 
history,  I  used  to  wonder  who  killed  those  great  beasts 
of  tremendous  size  that  splashed  about  in  the  swamps. 
After  awhile  I  made  this  discovery — that  nobody 
killed  them;  the  climate  changed  and  they  died.  So 
with  many  evils  in  the  world;  they  are  to  be  over- 


UNITY'S  FRATERNAL  PROGRAM  205 

come  by  a  change  of  climate  only.  The  only  way  we 
can  have  spiritual  climate  is  by  the  cooperative  move- 
ment coming  in  to  dominate  the  lives  of  the 
Churches." 

Let  this  chapter  close  with  the  final  paragraph  of  a 
powerful  address  upon  the  possibility  of  cooperation 
with  governments  in  Latin  America,  delivered  by  the 
Rev.  James  McLean  of  Chile.  "The  missionary  ought 
never  to  be  less  than  a  spiritual  plenipotentiary.  He 
ought  ever  to  hold  himself  free  from  political  intrigue, 
and  the  stream  of  his  life  ought  to  touch  and  refresh 
the  society  which  surrounds  him.  His  attitude  toward 
life  ought  to  be  that  of  whole-souled  friendship 
wherever  possible.  Certainly  he  makes  no  gain  by 
isolation  and  antagonism;  much  less  by  competition. 
In  many  of  these  republics  the  chief  obstacle  to 
progress  comes  from  the  opposition  of  individuals. 
Whether  we  are  invited  to  cooperate  in  education,  in 
temperance,  in  social  reform,  in  a  Christian  sense 
where  we  can  do  it  without  lowering  our  allegiance, 
we  ought  gladly  to  do  it,  we  ought  gladly  to  offer 
our  help.  Thank  God,  in  spite  of  racial  and  political 
barriers  there  is  no  barrier  to  brotherly  love.  Here 
is  a  wide  ministry  indeed  into  which  we  can  enter  as 
God  gives  opportunity." 


CONGRESSIONAL  ADDRESSES 

Chapters  II  to  IX  of  this  volume  have  dealt 
seriatim  with  the  reports  of  the  eight  commissions  of 
the  Congress  and  with  the  discussions  following  their 
presentation.  They  were  in  the  nature  of  the  case 
more  or  less  technical.  Yet  Panama  will  stand  for 
much  more  than  a  scientific  conference  of  friends 
and  workers  for  Latin  America.  Those  were  days  of 
inward  inspiration  coming  in  the  midst  of  problems 
which  seemed  insoluble,  and  nights  with  the  tropical 
stars  looking  down  upon  men  and  women  gathered  to 
hear  the  prophets  and  prophetesses  of  a  coming  day 
when  Christianity's  triumphs  will  circle  the  world  and 
crown  again  the  later  Latin  conquistadores,  leading 
in  their  jubilant  train,  not  enslaved  aborigines,  but 
souls  of  black,  red  and  white  alike — all  rejoicing  in 
Christ  Jesus  who  has  set  them  free  and  given  them 
the  life  which  is  life  indeed.  As  it  is  impracticable 
to  give  the  reader  even  an  outline  of  the  nearly  forty 
addresses  of  a  general  character  not  intimately  related 
to  the  Congress,  a  selection  has  been  made,  and  the 
reader  may  gather  therefrom  what  the  thought  of 
these  leaders  was  as  they  faced  the  spiritual  life  and 
the  needs  of  men.     Rather  than  to  give  full  synopses 

207 


2o8  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

of  the  addresses,  they  are  presented  in  extracts  or  in 
a  summary  of  portions  of  them.  The  reader  is  re- 
ferred to  the  RepDrt  for  fuller  statements. 

Those  of  a  devotional  character  are  not  reproduced, 
as  they  are  much  like  what  one  would  have  heard  in 
Northfield  or  at  Keswick,  with  little  reference  to  the 
Congress.  The  topics  and  speakers  at  the  eleven 
o'clock  hour  were  in  chronological  order  as  follows: 
'The  Preeminence  of  Christ,"  the  Rt.  Rev.  Arthur  S. 
Lloyd,  D.D. ;  "The  Ministry  of  Intercession,"  the  Rev. 
Archibald  McLean,  LL.D. ;  "Lessons  from  the  Early 
Christians,"  Professor  William  Adams  Brown,  Ph.D., 
D.D. ;  "Reality  in  Religion,"  President  Henry 
Churchill  King,  LL.D. ;  "Christ's  Vision  of  the  Unity 
of  All  Believers,"  the  Rev.  Paul  de  Schweinitz,  D.D. ; 
"The  Recovery  of  the  Apostolic  Conception  of  God," 
the  Rev.  Lemuel  C.  Barnes,  D.D. ;  and  "The  Secret 
of  a  Mighty  Work  of  God,"  Bishop  Walter  R, 
Lambuth,  D.D. 

Logically,  though  not  chronologically,  should  be 
placed  first,  the  address  of  welcome,  delivered  on  the 
opening  evening  by  Seiior  Ernesto  Lefevre,  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  for  the  Republic  of  Panama.  In 
musical  Spanish  His  Excellency  extended  a  cordial 
greeting,  after  which  he  repeated  it  in  equally  happy 
English.     Here  are  a  few  extracts  from  his  address. 

"Impelled  by  a  deep  feeling  of  cordiality  and  good- 
will, I  come  to  welcome  you  in  the  name  of  the 
Panamanian  government  at  this  opening  session  of 
the  Congress  on  Christian  Work  in  Latin  America. 


CONGRESSIONAL  ADDRESSES  209 

'The  constitution  of  the  Republic  of  Panama  gives 
ample  guarantees  of  liberty  of  conscience.  As  a  proof 
of  this  and  because  our  government  fervently  desires 
to  create  a  feeling  of  tolerance  in  the  Republic,  I  have 
not  hesitated  to  accept  your  kind  invitation  and  to 
proffer  a  genuine  welcome,  although  I  am  a  sincere 
and  devout  Catholic.  Let  me  impress  upon  you  that 
although  the  Panamanians  have  but  recently  gained 
their  independence,  it  does  not  follow  that  they  do 
not  recognize  the  benefits  brought  about  by  respecting 
the  liberties  and  rights  of  others. 

"You  have  chosen  the  most  propitious  moment  for 
your  noble  task.  While  I  am  speaking,  violence  and 
fury  are  unchained  in  the  Old  World,  destroying 
everything  which  they  meet  in  their  pathway.  .  .  . 
We,  the  peoples  of  America,  should  do  all  in  our 
power,  not  only  to  keep  away  from  strife,  but  to  bring 
about  a  lasting  peace  among  those  who  are  at  war. 
.  .  .  Your  purpose  is  to  unify  the  moral  and  re- 
ligious forces  of  America.  For  this  reason  and  with 
great  foresight  you  have  selected  for  this  Congress 
the  soil  of  Panama  as  a  central  point  from  which  its 
influences  will  widely  radiate.  We  appreciate  the  im- 
portance of  our  location  here ;  and  since  we  desire  to 
meet  the  demands  of  every  human  interest,  we  hold 
our  country  open  to  all  men  and  to  all  generous  ideas. 
Our  motto,  'Pro  Mundi  Beneficio/  [For  the  benefit 
of  the  world],  is  not  an  empty  phrase,  but  a  true 
sentiment  of  our  people.  With  all  the  respect  and 
consideration  which  is  due  to  such  a  gathering  as  this, 


210  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

I  take  great  pleasure  in  saluting  you  in  the  name  of 
the  government  of  Panama  and  wish  for  you  all  suc- 
cess in  your  mission."  Dr.  Mott's  response  was  like- 
wise most  felicitous. 

It  was  but  natural  that  the  European  war  should 
have  some  place  in  the  program  of  the  Congress.  The 
time  chosen  was  on  Sunday  evening,  when  the  dele- 
gates were  invited  to  assemble  at  the  great  hall  of  the 
beautiful  Instituto  Nacional,  the  Republic's  highest 
educational  institution,  and  to  enjoy  with  citizens  of 
Panama  a  thrilling  address  by  Dr.  Mott.  The  rector 
of  the  Institute,  Dr.  E.  G.  Dexter,  graciously  w^elcomed 
the  Congress,  after  which  he  introduced  Sefior  G. 
Andreve,  Secretary  of  Public  Instruction,  w^ho  in  turn 
presented  the  speaker  of  the  evening. 

"In  these  spacious  days,  in  these  solemn  days,"  said 
Dr.  Mott,  "in  these  days  of  God's  own  visitation,  it  is 
fitting  that  a  great  company  like  this,  made  up  of  so 
many  men  and  women  of  wide  outlook  and  of  respon- 
siveness to  the  highest  purposes  that  move  men, 
gathered  from  so  many  nations,  should  focus  our  at- 
tention upon  the  greatest  concentration  of  human 
strain,  the  greatest  concentration  of  human  oppor- 
tunity that  this  world  has  ever  known."  And  then 
through  his  personal  experiences,  he  allowed  his 
audience  to  share  with  him  "that  sacred  and  solemn 
privilege  of  looking  into  the  very  soul  of  the  Euro- 
pean peoples."  For  more  than  an  hour  he  held  his 
audience  spellbound,  as  he  threw  the  searchlight  of 
Christian   sympathy  into  hospitals,   trenches,   camps. 


CONGRESSIONAL  ADDRESSES  2n 

military  prisons,  and  the  sobbing  yet  courageous  homes 
of  the  nations  mourning  for  their  dead.  But  the  Christ 
of  Calvary,  Man  of  Sorrows,  was  also  in  home  and 
battlefield;  and  with  that  finger  with  which  He  once 
wrote  on  the  dust  of  the  temple  floor,  He  is  now  writ- 
ing on  the  clouds  beside  Constantine's  ''In  hoc  signo 
vinces"  the  one  word  "Opportunity."  In  particular, 
He  is  calling  the  Latin  and  Anglo-Saxon  of  the 
western  hemisphere  to  unite  in  a  great  union  move- 
ment America's  Christian  forces  for  the  help  of 
Europe  in  these  days  of  cataclysm  and  Armageddon 
woe.  Dr.  Mott's  closing  words  were  these:  *'It  is 
the  time  of  times  for  the  Christians,  especially  of  the 
neutral  lands  of  the  Americas,  to  afford  a  wise  and 
unselfish  leadership  of  the  forces  of  righteousness.  H 
they  serve  the  war-swept  and  suffering  nations  in  their 
deep  suffering,  these  nations  will  follow  their  leader- 
ship in  the  years  before  us.  In  the  darkest  hour  of  this 
terrible  night,  it  is  the  most  distinctive  mission  of 
many  like  ourselves  who  bear  Christ's  name  to  tell  of 
the  coming  dawn.  Let  us  all  strike  the  note  of  hope. 
Christ  came  that  the  good  might  conquer  the  ill,  that 
love  might  vanquish  hate,  that  where  sin  did  abound, 
grace  may  yet  more  abound.  The  night  is  far  spent, 
the  day  is  at  hand.  Let  us  as  individuals  and  as 
nations  cast  oft*  the  works  of  darkness;  let  us  put  on 
the  armor  of  light.''  A  feeble  echo  this  of  a  world 
prophet's  awakening  summons. 

The  keynote  of  the  Congress  was  sounded  when  it 
really  began  its  sessions  on  the  first  Thursday  after- 


212  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

noon.  Doctor  Oldham's  reading  of  Isaiah  2:  1-4  and 
Ephesians  3 :  1-4  and  his  devout  prayer  were  followed 
by  Dr.  Robert  E.  Speer's  opening  address  upon  "Our 
Attitude  and  Spirit.'*  The  delegates  had  met  as  Chris- 
tian brothers  and  sisters,  a  real  spiritual  family.  Yet 
there  is  another  presence  felt,  for  we  are  here  in  the 
fellowship  of  Christ;  nay,  in  Christ  Himself.  As 
one  of  the  delegates,  Mr.  Howell,  told  him  that  he 
lived  in  a  town  in  Cuba  named  Christ,  Cristo,  he 
spoke  of  all  that  that  suggested  to  the  Christian  and 
of  the  longing  imparted  to  live  really  in  Christ.  In 
such  an  atmosphere,  we  face  life  with  new  standards 
as  to  our  relationship  to  each  other.  How  near  we 
are  to  one  another  in  Him.  As  for  himself,  Dr. 
Speer  said :  "I  never  have  gone  to  any  gathering  any- 
where with  the  same  experience  of  heart,  with  the 
same  feeling  of  brotherly  love,  with  the  same  con- 
fidence of  unity  of  mind,  of  result,  which  God  has 
given  in  connection  with  this  gathering  here  in  Panama. 
The  more  varying  our  experience,  the  more  diverse 
our  temperaments,  the  more  supplementary  our  points 
of  view,  the  richer  our  fellowship  here,  the  larger  the 
contribution  which  it  will  be  possible  for  us  to  make 
to  the  body  of  Christ  and  its  work  in  the  world." 

Our  attitude  toward  the  enterprise  entrusted  to  us 
must  be  that  of  Jesus  Himself,  and  that  was  fourfold. 
He  had  an  absolute  discernment  of  it  all  and  saw  men 
and  His  tasks  for  them  with  unerring  truth.  Love  as 
a  factor  in  His  work  was  absolutely  undying,  limit- 
less, sacrificial.     Self-will  was  eclipsed  by  the  Father's 


CONGRESSIONAL  ADDRESSES  213 

will;  utter  unselfishness  characterized  His  service. 
"And  there  was,  lastly,  a  patience  that  could  never 
be  worn  away,  a  patience  that  never  was  fretful,  never 
irritated,  that  never  gave  over,  that  held  fast  to  one 
whom  He  ever  knew  to  be  murderer  through  all  the 
years  in  the  hope  that  still  His  love  might  break  His 
friend's  heart."  Most  of  the  address  was  an  applica- 
tion of  these  characteristics  to  the  missionary's  life. 
The  heart's  center  was  Love ;  and  he  quoted  the  words 
of  David  Livingstone  who  had  touched  at  Bahia, 
Brazil,  on  his  way  to  Africa,  in  whose  birthday  prayer 
of  the  year  before  he  died  they  are  found :  "O  Divine 
Love,  I  have  not  loved  Thee  deeply,  richly,  tenderly 
enough." 

How  such  a  passion  would  posses  a  man  and  what  it 
would  cause  him  to  do  Dr.  Speer  quietly  but  with 
dramatic  power  told  in  this  paragraph.  "There  is  a 
wonderful  passage  in  James  Thomson's  'City  of 
Dreadful  Night,'  where  the  soul  in  its  dismal  way 
gropes  in  the  darkness  across  the  desert,  rough  talons 
and  arms  grasping  at  it  from  the  scraggly  bushes  on 
either  side,  as  it  passes  along  in  the  darkness. 
Presently  the  soul  comes  to  a  high  precipice  and  looks 
over  a  great  stretch  of  white  sandy  beach  on  which 
the  surf  of  the  incoming  tide  is  breaking.  There,  to 
its  horror  and  consternation,  on  the  beach  nearer  to 
which  every  instant  come  the  lapping  waves,  Hes  the 
soul's  own  self  to  which  it  cannot  go.  The  soul  looks 
down  in  horror  upon  itself,  waiting  there  for  the  slow 
engulfing  of  the  approaching  tide.    Presently  far  down 


214  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

the  white  sands  a  white  figure  is  seen  drawing  near 
as  of  a  woman  carrying  a  red  lamp  in  her  hand ;  and 
the  soul  watches  with  intense  eagerness  the  woman 
who  appears  to  be  seeking  something.  The  woman 
draws  near.  She  comes  closer  and  closer,  until  the 
soul  sees  that  it  is  not  a  lamp  that  she  carries  in  her 
hand,  but  her  own  bleeding  heart ;  and  the  blood-drops 
trickle  step  by  step  as  she  makes  her  way  to  where 
the  soul's  own  self  is  left;  and  stooping  over  it  with 
her  own  bleeding  heart,  she  gathers  up  that  which  she 
would  save." 

From  Calvary  with  its  inscription,  "He  saved  others, 
himself  he  cannot  save,"  the  audience  was  led  to  the 
transfiguring  door  of  expectation.  ''If  He  be  true, — 
and  w^e  know  that  He  is  truer  than  our  knowledge  of 
His  being  true, — He  stands  now  as  He  has  always 
stood  over  against  the  hearts  of  His  people.  We  may 
be  sure  He  is  standing  in  front  of  us  now.  Oh,  if  we 
but  be  still,  we  shall  hear  Him  now  as  then :  'I  stand 
at  the  door  and  knock.  If  your  Congress  will  open 
the  door,  I  will  come  in — I  will.'  Shall  He  not? 
Shall  I  not  say  to  Him  now  as  one  of  all  of  us — I 
hear  Him  knocking — 'Lord,  I  came  here  to  have  Thee 
come  into  my  life  in  a  new  and  more  commanding 
way  than  ever.  Come  in !  Come  in !'  "  In  the  hushed 
stillness  Christ  came  in. 

Quite  different  from  this  address,  but  equally  es- 
sential for  Latin  America's  intellectuals,  were  the  de- 
liverances of  the  following  evening,  when  modern 
science  was  considered  in  its  relation  to  the  evangelical 


CONGRESSIONAL  ADDRESSES  215 

propaganda — in  one  aspect  a  stumbling-block  and  rock 
of  offense,  in  another  a  foundation-stone  upon  which 
the  intellectual  superstructure  of  the  Church  must  rest. 
Though  presiding,  President  King  had  been  asked  to 
speak  generally  upon  the  contributions  of  science  to 
human  progress.  Despite  its  disturbing  character,  we 
should  look  upon  it  as  an  ally  and  not  as  an  enemy. 
"If  we  really  believe  in  the  providence  of  God,  we 
shall  believe  He  has  been  in  these  movements,  as  well 
as  in  others,  and  has  not  left  Himself  without  wit- 
ness,— that  the  veracity  of  modern  science  has  proved 
to  be  really  a  great  new  note  of  challenge  not  only, 
but  a  great  encouragement  to  faith."  And  then  he 
indicated  five  particulars  in  which  modern  science  has 
aided  religion.  It  has  enormously  increased  the  re- 
sources of  wealth  and  power  and  knowledge.  It  has 
voiced  emphatically  the  insistent  challenge  to  ideal  in- 
terests to  produce  men  and  women  who  shall  be  worthy 
of  these  vast  resources.  It  has  brought  to  us  a  view 
of  the  world  far  larger  and  more  significant  than  we 
have  had  heretofore  and  has  forced  us  thereby  to  a 
more  adequate  and  a  larger  conception  of  God.  It 
has  brought  to  us  the  scientific  method,  a  method  util- 
ized so  notably  in  this  Congress.  *'And,  finally,  modern 
science  has  given  us  the  great  new  vision  of  what 
we  call  the  scientific  spirit, — what  is  after  all  nothing 
but  Jesus'  own  first  condition  of  entrance  into  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  the  spirit  of  the  humble,  open- 
minded  man." 

Professor  Braga,  of  Brazil,  spoke  upon  'The  Claims 


2i6  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

of  Christ  on  Thinking  Men."  Naturally  he  had  mainly 
in  mind  the  intellectuals  of  Latin  America.  They  are 
living  in  an  intensely  practical  age  and  are  seeking  to 
resolve  the  problems  of  life  and  to  grasp  the  great 
truths  concerning  men  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 
practical.  In  reaching  out  for  help,  they  are  turning 
more  and  more  to  North  America  for  aid.  In  secur- 
ing, analyzing  and  classifying  practical  information, 
it  is  done  partly  for  themselves,  but  also  with  an  al- 
truistic intent.  The  tendency  hitherto  has  been  to 
sound  only  the  shallower  depths.  Now  it  looks  toward 
the  more  profound  truths  of  life  and  for  such  views  it 
is  turning  northward.  This  is  not  the  true  source  of 
help.  As  Professor  Braga  said  in  conclusion :  "J^^^^ 
gives  the  keynote  of  all  these  problems  when  He  says, 
'I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life.'  Jesus  must 
be  the  w^ay,  the  truth  and  the  life  for  all  the  awakening 
intellectuals  of  South  America.  His  teaching  and  His 
doctrines  are  for  man's  profit,  for  his  own  personal 
advantage;  and  then  they  fit  him  for  that  large  con- 
tribution, that  noblest  service  to  humanity  through 
Christ.  It  is  this  that  has  the  largest  claims  upon  the 
thoughtful  minds  of  South  America,  upon  the  awaken- 
ing hearts  and  lives  of  that  great  continent." 

Bishop  McConnell,  w^ho  has  episcopal  oversight  of 
the  Methodist  Board's  work  in  Mexico,  said  the  con- 
cluding word  upon  this  subject,  his  topic  being,  "The 
Christian  Faith  in  an  Age  of  Science."  The  scientific 
spirit  in  the  last  half  century  has  passed  through  three 
distinct  stages.     At  first  evolution,  which  especially 


CONGRESSIONAL  ADDRESSES  217 

concerns  us  now,  was  interpreted  almost  wholly  in 
materialistic  terms.  Later,  evolutionists  speak  of 
themselves  as  agnostics.  Then  came  the  latest  step  at 
which  there  is  some  return  to  the  spirit  of  faith  that 
is  represented  in  men  like  Sir  Oliver  Lodge — whose 
views,  however,  are  not  wholly  respected  by  scientists. 
Scientific  thought  has  passed  through  these  stages  be- 
cause of  the  pressure  put  upon  it  by  forces  of  Chris- 
tian living.  On  the  other  hand  religion  has  been 
favorably  influenced  by  science.  The  smoke  of  the 
battle  between  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments  has 
begun  to  clear  away,  and  we  find  that  we  have  a  better 
perspective  than  ever  before,  a  new  grip  upon  cer- 
tain spiritual  elements  at  the  heart  of  our  faith.  In- 
stead of  explaining  Christ  away,  He  comes  back  with 
a  force  stronger  than  ever.  Prayer  stands  on  a  firmer 
foundation  now,  so  that  the  scientific  spirit  itself  has 
been  modified  and  has  in  it  more  of  the  spirit  of  faith 
than  it  formerly  had.  Latin  Americans  are  in  the  last 
analytic  stage,  scientifically  regarded;  and  the  only 
thing  that  will  help  them  out  is  the  effect  of  a  living 
religion  in  the  community. 

Our  study  of  science  has  had  a  reflex  influence  upon 
our  own  spirits.  Because  we  have  been  wrestling  with 
material  things,  our  treatment  of  theology  is  couched 
now  in  the  terms  of  life,  and  not  upon  abstractions  as 
in  former  days  when  one  read  such  discussions  as 
this  upon  the  Trinity,  the  subdivisions  being  three— 
pleromatic  humanity,  pleromatic  divinity,  and  hypo- 
static union.    There  has  been  also  a  correction  of  our 


2i8  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

feeling.  The  old  pessimism  and  despair  are  passing 
away,  and  the  most  hopeful  men  are  those  having  the 
hardest  problems  to  solve.  Like  the  hospital  novice 
who  feels  nauseated  when  he  first  goes  on  the  field 
of  battle,  but  who  forgets  his  stomach  when  he  cares 
for  the  sorely  wounded,  so  we  are  finding  new 
strength  and  hope  as  we  enter  into  an  age  of  service. 
Three  great  challenges  face  the  Christian  in  this 
age  of  science.  He  and  the  scientist  alike  stand  be- 
fore the  conquests  of  nature,  of  disease  and  of  poverty. 
With  the  forces  underlying  this  threefold  conquest  we 
must  have  something  to  do.  The  second  challenge  con- 
fronting us  is  that  we  shall  reorganize  human  society 
upon  such  a  basis  as  to  place  human  values  in  the  fore- 
most place,  giving  man  the  preference  over  theories 
or  mere  things.  And  finall}^  it  is  "the  heart  of  Scrip- 
ture that  the  scientific  spirit,  working  together  with 
the  religious  spirit,  dares  accept  this  challenge  to 
change  human  nature,  if  you  care  to  put  it  so;  at  least 
to  change  the  conditions  of  human  life,  the  home  life, 
the  conditions  of  childhood,  the  conditions  of  youth, 
and  to  transform  all  these  conditions  under  which 
human  beings  live.  It  is  just  the  message  of  redemp- 
tion. .  .  .  All  men  w^orking  together  from  what- 
ever angle  can  do  something  toward  bringing  about 
this  consummation,  that  there  shall  be,  even  in  these 
material  things,  in  a  very  real  sense  such  a  revela- 
tion of  God  that  w^e  can  say  that  we  stand  in  His 
presence, — so  that  each  common  bush  shall  glow  with 
God." 


,^<^:^'^ir^ 


ARRIVAL  OF   PHYSICIAN  AT  THE  DISPENSARY, 
PORTO  RICO 
GIRLS'  DORMITORY,  CHRISTO  SCHOOL,  CUBA 


CONGRESSIONAL  ADDRESSES  219 

A  score  of  times  at  least  during  the  nine  days'  con- 
gressional sessions  Latin  leadership  had  been  urged 
as  a  primal  necessity  of  the  evangelical  Churches. 
Two  addresses  on  Monday  evening  dealt  with  this 
pivotal  theme.  The  Rev.  E.  C.  Pereira  of  Brazil  spoke 
upon  **True  Leaders  the  Fundamental  Need.''  "The 
true  leader,  like  the  poet,  is  born  and  not  made.  He 
gains  and  holds  his  place  by  the  spontaneous  consent, 
rather  than  by  the  formal  vote,  of  men.  Legitimate 
child  of  his  environment,  he  absorbs  the  noble  but  as 
yet  uncertain  ideas,  the  confused  sentiments,  the  ill- 
defined  hopes,  the  vague  aspirations  that  are  com- 
mon to  his  fellows,  and  then  interprets,  defines  and 
illustrates  them.  Stirred  by  his  environment,  he  in 
turn  reacts  upon  it.  Moral  currents  are  formed  and 
then  swell.  The  struggle  begins;  men's  spirits  are 
aflame.  A  banner  is  unfurled  to  the  strong  winds  of 
an  ideal,  and  around  it  are  gathered  soldiers  ready  for 
any  sacrifice.  In  the  rude  struggle  of  conflict,  the 
leader  becomes  a  hero  or  martyr.  Like  the  good 
shepherd  of  the  parable,  he  never  leaves  his  flock  to 
the  cruel  teeth  of  their  vulpine  foes.  The  leader,  how- 
ever, is  not  only  the  commander  in  the  hour  of  con- 
flict. He  should  also  be  the  interpreter,  the  authori- 
tative exponent  and  organ  of  those  he  leads.  Such  is 
in  general  outline  the  function  of  the  leader,  especially 
in  the  new  Ibero- American  societies."  The  speaker 
then  mentioned  three  causes  making  true  leadership 
difHcult  at  present  in  Latin  America.  The  first  and 
most  important  one  is  ethnic,  the  moral  and  social  in- 


220  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

stability  of  these  southern  democracies.  A  second  is 
psychological,  the  lack  of  great  ideals.  The  third  is 
the  absence  in  any  large  measure  of  a  system  of 
education  adequate  for  the  formation  of  character. 

What  manner  of  men  were  needed  for  these  posi- 
tions of  influence  Senor  Pereira  partly  described  in 
these  words :  "It  is  necessary  in  the  present  condition 
in  Latin  America  that  the  leader  should  be  a  man  of 
God,  without  ambition  and  without  personal  vanities 
and  follies, — a  man  not  only  diligent,  active  and  prac- 
tical in  meeting  and  solving  the  difficulties  of  the 
moment,  but  also  a  man  of  foresight  and  of  broad 
vision  of  the  future  and  able  to  keep  before  the  minds 
of  his  fellow  Christians,  not  the  narrow  view  of  a 
combat,  but  the  larger  conception  of  a  campaign. 

"It  is  necessary  that  missionaries,  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  John  the  Baptist,  watch  and  labor  anxiously 
for  the  time  when  they  may  occupy  a  place  in  the 
background  and  consider  themselves  the  friends,  coun- 
sellors and  foster-fathers  of  the  nascent  Church. 
.  .  .  The  voice  of  God,  speaking  through  the  ex- 
perience of  fifty  years,  proclaims  to  the  apostles  of 
all  the  denominations  at  work  in  Latin  America  that 
their  task  will  be  like  that  of  the  daughters  of  Danaus, 
unless  they  succeed  in  raising  up  men  of  true  leader- 
ship, men  able — while  checking  the  turbulent  spirit  of 
revolt — to  gather  about  themselves  the  good,  the  noble 
and  the  true,  pointing  them  to  the  way  of  the  Cross 
and  of  service,  and  leading  them  to  the  fulfilment  of 
the  noble  and  divine  program  of  Missions."    The  en- 


CONGRESSIONAL  ADDRESSES  221 

tire  address,  as  these  extracts  may  suggest,  was  most 
searching  and  convincing.  And  Bishop  Stuntz,  who 
followed  with  one  upon  the  correlative  theme,  "The 
Price  of  Leadership,"  aptly  completed  a  fine  piece  of 
argumentation  and  of  effective  appeal  which  gave  the 
missionary  administrator's  point  of  view. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  address  of  the  entire  Con- 
gress, all  things  considered,  was  that  of  one  of  the 
Supreme  Court  judges  of  Porto  Rico,  the  Honorable 
Emilio  del  Toro.  As  an  enlightened  Roman  Catholic, 
he  could  discuss  his  theme,  'The  Principles  and 
Spirit  of  Jesus  Essential  to  Meet  the  Social  Needs  of 
Our  Time,"  with  an  appreciation  of  the  best  work 
of  his  own  Church  and  also  with  absolute  fairness  to 
the  evangelical  movement.  Although  the  Judge  spoke 
in  Spanish,  he  was  listened  to  with  the  profoundest  in- 
terest, and  at  the  close  his  address  received  most  hearty 
applause.     He  said  in  part : 

"I  have  been  asked  to  state  this  evening  what  are 
the  principles  and  the  spirit  of  Christianity  essential 
to  meet  the  needs  of  Latin  America  in  our  time;  and 
I  reply,  the  divine  teachings  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  conveyed  in  the  same  spirit  of  love  and  truth 
in  which  they  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  Master.     .     .     . 

'The  success  of  the  United  States  of  America  has 
been  due  in  large  measure,  in  my  opinion,  to  the  deeply 
religious  training  of  the  Puritans.  'When  they  landed 
on  these  shores,  their  moral  revolution,'  as  a  Porto 
Rican  thinker,  Roman  Balderioty  Castro,  has  said, 
'had  been  finished,  and  on  being  transplanted  to  the 


222  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

wider  field  of  a  new  w^orld,  it  was  to  bear  all  its  fruits : 
full  personal  guarantees;  deep  roots  for  individual 
religious  feeling  and  ample  field  for  all  its  forms, 
that  is,  for  all  forms  of  worship;  absolute  respect  of 
property,  and  in  consequence  elective  governments; 
taxes  foreseen  and  discussed,  and  expenditures  known 
and  efificient  for  the  welfare  of  the  governed;  the 
right  of  assembly,  of  thought,  of  speech  and  of  the 
press,  and  absolute  liberty  of  labor  in  all  its  forms;' 
privileges  which  leave  deep  in  the  soul  of  the  peoples 
which  exercise  them  *an  ardent  desire  and  an  active 
hope  of  unlimited  improvement.' 

**Latin  America  is  coming  out  into  the  life  of 
civilization  with  a  different  lot.  The  seeds  of  Chris- 
tianity sown  since  the  times  of  the  colonizers  have 
produced  their  fruits;  and  wherever  there  has  been 
the  most  liberty,  there  its  mission  has  become  the 
noblest  in  practice.  .  .  .  Besides,  the  religious  life 
of  the  Spanish- American  countries  has  been  character- 
ized by  the  most  absolute  predominance  of  the 
Catholic  Church;  and  in  my  judgment  the  same  benefi- 
cent influence  w^hich  Catholicism  has  exercised  in  the 
development  of  its  civilization  would  have  been  greater 
had  it  been  obliged  to  contend  face  to  face  from  the 
earliest  times  with  a  vigorous  Protestant  movement. 

"Until  a  few  years  ago  the  Catholic  Church  was,  in 
my  native  Island,  Porto  Rico,  the  state  religion. 
Among  the  public  expenditures  those  for  worship  were 
conspicuous.  The  influence  of  the  clergy  extended 
everywhere.    And  what  was  the  result  after  four  cen- 


CONGRESSIONAL  ADDRESSES  223 

turies  of  abundant  opportunity?  A  people  for  the 
most  part  indifferent  or  unbelieving. 

'There  took  place  a  change  of  regime.  The  Church 
was  separated  from  the  state.  A  struggle  began. 
Under  the  protection  of  the  free  institutions  of  North 
America  established  in  the  Island,  Presbyterians, 
Lutherans,  Baptists,  Episcopalians,  began  their  work. 
Faint-hearted  Catholic  priests,  accustomed  to  the  en- 
joyment of  special  privileges,  decried  the  ruin  of 
their  Church,  But  it  was  not  so.  The  spirit  of  the 
North  entered  into  her,  and  men  accustomed  to  a  life 
of  freedom  gave  her  a  new  impetus.     .     .     . 

"Those  who  love  the  progress  of  the  nations,  those 
who  study  history  dispassionately,  those  who  have 
faith  in  the  improvement  of  mankind,  cannot  but  see 
with  deep  sympathy  that  the  Reformation  is  spreading, 
that  free  investigation  opens  broader  horizons  to  the 
human  spirit,  that  Christianity  preached  and  inter- 
preted by  all  disseminates  its  beneficent  influence  and 
raises  the  level  of  society.     . 

"It  is  not  enough  in  every  case  to  enlighten  the 
mind;  it  is  necessary  constantly  to  blow  the  fire.  It 
is  not  enough  to  preach  Christianity ;  Christianity  must 
be  lived.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  to  the  poor 
descendant  of  the  Incas  of  Peru,  *Love  and  respect 
all  men  as  your  brothers,*  and  then  treat  him  as  a 
slave.  If  we  put  in  his  hand  the  Bible,  we  must  put 
with  it  our  love  and  our  sympathy.  If  we  invite  him 
to  live  the  Christian  life,  we  must  show  him  by  our 
example  what  that  life  is.     .     .     . 


224  RENAISSAXT  LATIN  AMERICA 

"The  labor  is  complex.  ...  To  carry  it  out  in 
its  widest  sweep  requires  enormous  effort,  inexhaust- 
ible material  resources,  a  far-sightedness  almost  super- 
human on  the  part  of  the  leaders,  and  a  devotion  and 
complete  consecration  to  their  duty  on  the  part  of  the 
laborers.  And  before  all  and  above  all,  it  requires 
that  the  spirit  of  love — which  in  my  judgment  is  the 
essence  of  Christianity — should  inspire  both  the  labor- 
ers and  the  leaders.  Only  love,  without  wdiich  charity, 
faith  and  religion  are  as  bodies  unsouled,  will  be  able 
to  impress  Latin  America.  And  when  it  is  so  im- 
pressed by  love,  when  it  is  profoundly  convinced  of 
the  spirit  of  sympathy  of  the  missionaries,  then,  and 
only  then,  will  be  the  propitious  moment  to  sow  and 
cultivate  in  it  all  the  Christian  virtues.  May  God 
illumine  your  hearts  and  minds." 

To  follow  such  an  address  by  such  a  man  seemed 
presumptuous.  Yet  President  Charles  T.  Paul,  of  the 
College  of  Missions,  Indianapolis,  not  only  succeeded 
in  maintaining  its  high  standard,  but  Dr.  Morrison  of 
The  Christian  Century,  a  fellow  Disciple,  does  not 
hesitate  to  place  his  effort  at  the  very  apex  of  all  the 
great  utterances  of  the  Congress.  His  theme  was  the 
same  as  that  of  Judge  Del  Toro,  and  it  appealed  to 
Latin  Americans  more  than  any  other  address  of  an 
Anglo-Saxon.  The  reasons  were  not  far  to  seek. 
President  Paul  is  a  polyglot  and  is  steeped  not  only 
in  Iberian  literatures,  but  also  in  the  writings  of  Latin- 
American  authors,  of  which  he  made  a  most  effective 
use.     It  was  a  philosophical  interpretation  of  social 


CONGRESSIONAL  ADDRESSES  225 

conditions  in  Latin  America  from  the  evangelical 
viewpoint.  When  he  turned  to  the  spiritual  needs  of 
those  republics,  he  quoted  from  their  own  poets  and 
philosophers,  and  then  added  the  panacea  of  all  these 
ills  from  the  finest  thoughts  of  Jesus  and  His  modern 
followers.  Occasionally  and  most  tactfully  he  would 
appeal  to  those  whom  Latin  intellectuals  would  hear 
when  no  evangelical  voice  would  be  tolerated,  as  in  this 
paragraph : 

"We  may  recall  the  words  of  Lecky,  the  rationalist 
historian,  who  declared  that  in  the  record  of  three 
short  years  Jesus  has  done  more  to  soften  and  regener- 
ate mankind  than  all  the  disquisitions  of  the  philoso- 
phers and  all  the  exhortations  of  the  moralists.  The 
cry  that  escaped  Him  on  the  cross  has  been  sometimes 
regarded  chiefly  as  an  exclamation  of  agony.  It  was 
vastly  more  than  that.  It  was  a  cry  of  victory  wrung 
from  the  consciousness  that  He  had  set  in  motion 
forces  that  would  save  the  world."  Protestant  and 
Romanist  were  as  one  that  evening  as  they  magnified 
Jesus  and  His  Cross. 

Space  limitations  prevent  further  suggestions  of  the 
riches  of  these  congressional  addresses,  though  one 
thinks  longingly  of  other  deeply  moving  and  helpful 
utterances,  particularly  the  two  of  the  second  Friday 
evening  upon  "The  Vital  Power  of  Christianity — 
How  Realized  and  Maintained."  The  speakers  were 
the  Rev.  Alvaro  Reis  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  the  Rev. 
James  I.  Vance,  D.D.,  of  Nashville.  If  North  Amer- 
ica as  well  as  its  Latin  neighbor  could  hear  and  heed 


226  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

those  two  addresses,  the  end  of  the  campaign  would 
be  nearer.  Many  others  were  almost  equally  note- 
worthy, especially  Dr.  Goucher's  rhapsody  upon  "The 
Triumphs  of  Christianity." 

A  few  paragraphs  must  be  given,  however,  to  the 
sermon  of  the  Congress,  which  came  on  the  closing 
afternoon,  a  most  fitting  message  for  the  final  one  of 
a  wonderful  conference.  The  speaker  was  the  Rev. 
George  Alexander,  D.D.,  president  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board,  North.  Dr.  Speer  had  read  part  of  the  seventh 
chapter  of  St.  John,  beginning  at  the  fourteenth  verse, 
the  delegates  sang  in  adoration  "Hail  to  the  Lord's 
Anointed,"  and  President  Monteverde  led  in  prayer. 

Dr.  Alexander's  text  was  Hebrews  13:  8,  "Jesus 
Christ  is  the  same  yesterday  and  to-day,  yea  and  for- 
ever," and  his  theme,  "The  Immutable  Christ."  Not 
in  His  earthly  manifestation  was  He  unchangeable,  nor 
in  His  message  and  ministry,  which  were  richly  varied. 
He  is  immutable  as  the  revealer  of  God  to  all  times. 
As  healer  of  the  grievous  hurt  of  humanity.  He 
changes  not.  Though  education,  ethical  culture, 
civilization,  may  prove  inadequate  in  this,  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  same  to-day  as  in  Palestine  two  millenniums  ago. 
So,  too.  He  is  changeless  in  His  leadership  of  redeemed 
humanity;  for  He  is  King  of  the  Ages.  It  is  ours 
to  carry  the  comfort  of  this  message  to'  all  not  pos- 
sessing it,  especially  in  this  time  of  war  tragedy.  Ours 
is  the  responsibility  to  complete  His  unfinished  task; 
for  when  He  left  the  world,  Christians  were  con- 
stituted His  continuators  as  its  salt,  its  light.     Dr. 


CONGRESSIONAL  ADDRESSES  227 

Alexander  very  touchingly  enlarged  upon  this  Idea  in 
closing. 

"It  was  not  Simon  Peter  who  awakened  three 
thousand  souls  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  but  Christ 
in  Peter.  It  was  not  Paul  who  carried  salvation  to 
all  the  great  centers  of  the  Roman  Empire,  but  Christ 
in  Paul.  ...  It  was  Christ,  not  St.  Augustine, 
that  brought  salvation  to  Great  Britain ;  it  was  Christ, 
and  not  Wesley,  that  brought  Jesus  to  the  vision  of 
the  Cornish  miners;  it  was  Christ  that  sent  David 
Livingstone  into  the  heart  of  the  dark  continent  of 
Africa.  And  the  mighty  force  for  the  redemption  of 
Latin  America  is  to  be  Christ  carried  in  your  hearts 
and  in  your  lives ;  Christ  speaking  through  your  lives, 
and  Christ's  love  revealed  in  your  love;  Christ's 
patience  in  your  patience;  Christ's  life  in  your  Hfe; 
and  He  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever. 
And  He  is  saying  to  each  of  us,  'Behold,  I  stand  at 
the  door  and  knock:  if  any  man  hear  my  voice  and 
open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with 
him,  and  he  with  me.'  'O  Thou  who  changest  not, 
abide  in  me.'  " 

After  singing  "Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds,"  only  the 
closing  words  remained  to  be  spoken,  in  praise  and 
in  intercession.  The  last  voice  of  many  was  that  of 
Dr.  Mott  whose  final  prayer  preceded  the  benediction, 
pronounced  by  Senor  Pereira. 

"Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  these  solemn  closing 
moments  of  this  never-to-be-forgotten  Congress,  we 
would  again  bow  down  in  humility  before  Thee.     We 


228  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

would  fall  upon  our  faces;  we  would  acknowledge 
Thee  to  be  the  Lord,  the  Father  Everlasting.  We 
would  have  Thy  hand  of  love  and  power  to  be  ex- 
tended in  blessing  upon  each  one  of  us.  Now  help  us 
as  we  go  forth  that  we  may  watch,  that  we  may  stand 
fast  in  the  faith,  that  we  may  be  strong.  Help  us 
that  we  may  be  steadfast,  unmovable,  always  pointing 
to  and  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch 
as  we  know  that  our  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 
God  grant  that  we  may  meet  again,  whether  it  be  in 
one  of  these  Latin  lands,  or  in  some  other  part  of 
the  world,  or  in  that  land  of  wide  dimensions  whose 
builder  and  maker  is  God.  May  it  be  in  the  fuller 
presence.  All  this  we  ask  in  faith  believing,  through 
Jesus  Christ  who  has  bound  us  together  and  who  will 
stay  with  us  even  unto  the  end  of  the  ages.    Amen." 


XI 

AFTERMATH  AND  ESTIMATES 

So  important  a  conference  could  not  fail  to  produce 
marked  effects.  Even  while  the  Congress  was  in  ses- 
sion the  fruitage  began  to  appear.  Thus  on  Monday 
evening  a  meeting  was  called  at  St.  Luke's  Church 
where  sixty-eight  delegates  especially  interested  in  the 
work  in  Mexico  met  to  reconsider  plans  made  at  the 
Cincinnati  Conference  of  19 14.  Reports  of  progress 
from  the  home  base  and  from  the  field  gave  grounds 
for  encouragement,  as  well  as  suggestions  for  tact  and 
caution.  A  number  of  Societies  had  gone  forward  to 
materialize  the  Cincinnati  plans,  greatly  to  the  delight 
of  the  laymen.  Dr.  Mott  spoke  on  this  point :  'They 
have  said,  *If  this  is  the  poHcy  that  is  now  likely  to 
obtain,  we  are  becoming  interested.'  I  honestly  believe 
that  the  attitude  and  expressions  of  the  workers  right 
here  in  this  room,  from  Mexico  and  from  the  Boards 
interested  in  Mexico,  will  have  more  to  do  with  point- 
ing the  way  to  the  solution  of  the  most  obstinate  prob- 
lems in  this  and  other  parts  of  Latin  America  than 
any  other  single  thing  done  on  these  grounds.  In 
other  words,  we  have  had  resolutions  long  enough. 
They  have  seen  the  path  indicated  at  Cincinnati,  but 
Cincinnati   went    one   step    farther    than   resolutions. 

229 


230  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

They  have  said,  *We  will  take  this  matter  right  into 
the  Board  rooms,  and  we  will  apply  our  principles.' 
And  it  would  seem,  therefore,  that  if  in  a  concerted, 
statesmanlike,  courageous  and  sacrificial  manner  we 
would  go  forward  on  the  lines  that  we  cannot  believe 
we  were  led  into  by  selfish  considerations,  even  though 
we  might  have  been  mistaken  here  and  there  in  detail, 
such  action  would  prove  contagious."  Dr.  Speer  and 
Secretary  Earl  Taylor  of  the  Methodist  Board  spoke 
strongly  in  favor  of  an  immediate  forward  movement, 
so  soon  as  war  conditions  will  permit. 

Yet  testimony,  both  Mexican  and  missionary,  mani- 
fested the  presence  of  a  natural  resentment  against 
the  Cincinnati  and  Board  decisions,  on  the  ground  that 
the  Mexicans  themselves  had  not  been  sufficiently  con- 
sidered and  consulted.  One  Church  went  so  far  as  to 
pass  a  resolution  in  open  meeting  to  the  effect  that 
they  would  not  endorse  the  Cincinnati  plan  and  that 
they  would  continue  their  separate  existence.  An 
illuminating  discussion  followed,  and  as  a  result  this 
motion  was  carried :  "Voted :  First,  that  we  heartily 
support  the  Cincinnati  resolutions  in  principle ;  second, 
that,  leaving  the  question  of  reorganization  and  re- 
alignment of  the  Mexican  Churches  in  abeyance  for 
the  time  being,  we  would  urge  the  missionary  Boards 
engaged  in  work  in  Mexico  in  the  administration  of 
their  work  to  move  as  rapidly  as  possible  in  harmony 
with  the  suggestions  of  the  Cincinnati  Conference; 
and,  third,  that  we  endorse  the  proposal  to  have  a 
national  convention  held   in   Mexico  at  the   earliest 


AFTERMATH  AND  ESTIMATES  231 

possible  moment."  The  date  of  such  a  conference  was 
then  fixed  for  October,  but  later  political  changes  may 
make  that  impracticable.  From  the  meeting  that  even- 
ing came  a  clearer  appreciation  of  the  Mexican  situa- 
tion than  would  have  been  possible  without  Panama, 
where  some  of  the  strongest  friends  of  the  v/ork  there 
could  talk  matters  through  face  to  face,  Mexicans, 
Board  secretaries  and  missionaries  alike. 

As  previously  intimated,  the  greatest  step  in  ad- 
vance was  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  "Com- 
mittee on  Cooperation  in  Latin  America,"  the  Amer- 
ican and  Canadian  Section  of  which  met  an  hour 
after  the  dissolution  of  the  Congress.  It  not  only 
organized  with  Dr.  Speer  as  Chairman  and  Mr.  In- 
man  as  Executive  Secretary,  but  it  also  planned  for 
meetings  to  carry  the  message  of  Panama  to  the 
great  centers  of  population  in  North  America.  It 
considered  measures  for  securing  the  cooperation  of 
Societies  not  now  working  in  South  America  such  as 
the  American  Board,  the  Northern  Baptist,  the  various 
Lutheran  bodies  and  British  Societies  in  South  Amer- 
ica, as  well  as  extension  of  activities  by  the  Boards 
already  supporting  work  there.  Three  other  votes  of 
the  Committee  are  prophetic  of  the  character  of  its 
coming  activities.  One  referred  to  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee the  appeal  of  the  Rev.  V.  Ravi  inviting  the 
W'aldensians  in  Uruguay  to  cooperate  in  missionary 
work  in  Latin  America.  It  was  likewise  voted  to  re- 
quest the  Committee  on  Education  to  consider  the 
desirability  and  feasibility  of  sending  a  deputation  of 


232  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

educators  to  South  America  to  study  and  report  con- 
cerning the  location  of  educational  institutions  and  to 
refer  the  matter  with  power  to  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee. As  its  budget  of  $12,000  for  its  first  year  was 
practically  provided  for,  the  initial  meeting  of  the 
committee  was  most  inspiring. 

The  first  ofBcial  session  of  this  Executive  Committee 
met  in  New  York  on  April  25,  1916.  As  suggestive  of 
what  it  has  already  achieved,  a  few  items  may  be 
noted.  Mr.  Colton  reported  for  the  subcommittee  on 
Survey  and  Occupation  that  the  Lima  Regional  Con- 
ference had  invited  the  American  Board  to  undertake 
work  in  Peru  and  that  there  is  large  hope  that  that 
Board  will  enlarge  its  program  for  Latin  America; 
that  the  Disciples  of  Christ  are  considering  the  ex- 
tension of  their  work  in  Argentina;  that  the  Amer- 
ican Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  is  giving  considera- 
tion to  the  enlargement  of  its  activities  in  Nicaragua; 
that  the  Methodists  are  considering  entering  Costa 
Rica;  and  that  the  Northern  Presbyterians  and  Meth- 
odists have  undertaken  certain  adjustments  of  terri- 
tory which  will  be  developed  later.  Mr.  Inman  re- 
ported that  Mr.  John  A.  Mackay  of  Scotland  had  been 
visiting  South  America  to  investigate  a  field  for  the 
United  Free  Church,  and  that  Mr.  Reed  of  Ecuador 
had  written  concerning  the  opening  up  of  work  in 
that  republic  by  some  strong  Board.  Dr.  Speer  read 
a  letter  from  Dr.  Wallace  concerning  a  union  evan- 
gelical seminary  In  Mexico;  and  it  was  voted  to  ex- 
press satisfaction  in  the  negotiations  and  a  hope  that 


AFTERMATH  AND  ESTIMATES  2^:^ 

the  plan  outlined  may  be  consummated,  even  if  it 
were  necessary  for  deputations  to  visit  that  republic  to 
insure  its  realization.  The  Committee  on  Literature 
stated  that  it  already  has  taken  steps  to  provide  some 
of  the  literature  decided  upon  by  the  Latin- American 
regional  conferences.  It  was  also  voted  to  ask  mission 
Boards  to  assign  some  of  their  strongest  men  on  fur- 
lough to  prepare  a  detailed  and  annotated  bibliography. 

Secretary  Inman  stated  that  the  imperfect  informa- 
tion now  possessed  showed  that  one  hundred  and 
seventeen  religious  papers  had  printed  accounts  of 
the  Congress,  and  that  three  hundred  and  three  daily 
papers  had  contained  one  or  more  notices  of  its  work. 
From  Latin  America  also  had  come  statements  from 
two  editors  who  had  criticised  the  Congress  strongly 
before  it  was  held,  but  after  they  had  been  at  its 
sessions,  they  frankly  acknowledged  their  mistake  and 
gave  enthusiastic  reports  of  the  good  that  is  resulting 
from  it. 

Returning  again  to  Panama,  two  days  after  the  ad- 
journment of  the  Congress  the  first  delegations  were 
departing  for  the  regional  conferences,  one  group 
going  southward  to  those  held  at  Lima,  Peru;  San- 
tiago, Chile;  Buenos  Aires,  Argentina;  and  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  Brazil,  and  another  sailing  northward  for  the 
Cuba  conference  at  Havana.  Later,  other  delegates 
went  their  ways  to  the  conferences  at  Barranquilla, 
Colombia,  and  San  Juan,  Porto  Rico.  The  conferences 
of  the  South  American  republics,  except  Barranquil- 
la's,  were  under  the  chairmanship  of  Secretary  A.  W. 


234  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Halsey,  D.D.,  of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  North,  and 
their  dates  were  as  follows :  Lima,  February  29-March 
4;  Santiago,  March  16-21;  Buenos  Aires,  March  28- 
31;  Rio  de  Janeiro,  April  21-25;  Barranquilla,  under 
the  chairmanship  of  the  Rev.  Charles  C.  Millar,  D.D., 
February  29-March  4;  Havana,  February  26-29,  with 
the  Rev.  C.  L.  Thompson,  D.D.,  as  chairman;  and 
San  Juan,  March  16-20,  the  Rev.  L.  C.  Barnes,  D.D., 
presiding. 

In  general  these  regional  conferences  w^ere  made  up 
of  delegates  who  had  been  present  at  Panama  and  who 
brought  with  them  its  inspiring  and  illuminating  mes- 
sage, and  of  local  members  representing  practically  all 
of  the  Societies  working  in  those  immediate  sections. 
The  topics  discussed  were  identical  with  those  con- 
sidered at  the  Congress;  and  so  each  region  was  able 
to  apply  the  best  collective  and  local  wisdom  to  the 
promotion  of  its  own  progress  and  to  the  solution  of 
local  problems.  The  discussions  were  based  upon 
carefully  prepared  and  fully  detailed  commission  re- 
ports, the  group  of  reports  for  the  Santiago  Conference 
making  the  equivalent  of  a  book  of  two  hundred  pages. 
A  volume  is  being  printed  which  will  give  a  full 
account  of  the  regional  conferences. 

These  regional  presentations  of  Panama's  work 
were  apparently  of  great  local  interest.  At  Lima,  the 
city  founded  by  the  conquering  Pizzarro  himself 
seventy-two  years  before  Jamestown  was  settled  and 
until  a  century  ago  Rome's  ecclesiastical  headquarters 
in  South  America,  the  conference  was  the  occasion 


AFTERMATH  AND  ESTIMATES  235 

for  holding  the  first  public  Protestant  meeting  ever 
held  in  Peru  outside  the  little  mission  halls.  A  theater 
had  been  rented,  and  the  meeting  was  advertised. 
With  some  trepidation  the  evangelical  believers  faced 
this  anticipated  ordeal.  To  quote  from  Dr.  Morrison : 
"We  were  all  more  or  less  vibrant  with  the  feeling 
of  novelty  and  uncertainty.  What  hostile  elements 
might  be  present  in  the  vast  assembly,  no  one  knew. 
The  theater  faces  the  plaza,  and  during  the  early  part 
of  our  program  a  band  was  playing  in  this  plaza.  A 
great  crowd  stood  outside  the  theater  door  as  we 
entered.  It  was  evident  that  the  whole  affair  was 
felt  to  be  a  radical  innovation — a  Protestant  meeting 
held  publicly  in  a  theater  and  with  police  protection! 
.  .  .  From  our  point  of  view  on  the  stage  we  were 
made  to  feel  the  heterogeneous  character  of  the 
audience.  There  were  a  very  few  Anglo-Saxon  faces 
— some  missionaries,  ten  or  twelve  Americans  or 
Englishmen  engaged  in  business  in  Lima,  and  about 
two-thirds  back  someone  pointed  out  to  me  the  in- 
terested face  of  the  Hon.  Benton  McMillan,  United 
States  Minister  to  Peru.  .  .  .  Then  there  were 
the  humble  and  intelligently  devout  faces  of  the  mis- 
sion members.  These  seemed  to  constitute  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  audience.  Scattered  through  the 
house  were  many  men  whose  cheers  seemed  to  me  to 
indicate  not  so  much  a  positive  attitude  of  favor  and 
support  for  the  evangelical  ideals  as  a  negative  jeer- 
ing of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  concerning  which 
they  had  evidently  experienced  a  bitter  disillusionment. 


2z(i  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

The  number  of  men  of  this  temper,  if  I  am  any  judge, 
was  very  large.  They  are  not  evangehcals.  They 
would  probably  call  themselves  liberals  in  religion,  as 
well  as  in  politics.  The  fact  is  that  in  religious  faith 
they  are  quite  at  sea,  if  not  confessed  atheists.'* 
Bishop  Kinsolving  of  Brazil  presided,  speaking  in 
Portuguese  as  did  Senor  Alvaro  Reis  of  Rio,  while 
the  other  two  speakers.  Professor  Monteverde  and 
Rev.  F.  Barroetavena,  used  Spanish.  There  was  no 
real  disturbance,  though  a  Franciscan  monk,  who  came 
in  with  a  parcel  of  leaflets  which  were  distributed  at 
the  close  of  the  meeting,  was  the  occasion  of  a  com- 
motion. The  circulars  were  not  so  much  an  attack 
upon  Protestantism  as  on  the  Liberal  party  for  grant- 
ing the  right  of  public  worship  to  others  than  Roman 
Catholics. 

How  the  less  fanatical  cities  regarded  these  public 
meetings  of  the  conferences,  may  be  gathered  from  an 
account  of  the  Santiago  theater  meeting  as  reported  in 
La  Union,  the  daily  mouthpiece  of  the  Catholic  Church 
there.  Again  we  are  indebted  to  The  Christian  Century 
articles  of  Dr.  Morrison.  "We  had  heard  mention  of 
this  Protestant  sect  which  our  people  had  christened 
with  the  picturesque  name  of  'Canutos*  [so  called  be- 
cause Seiior  Canut  was  one  of  the  best  known  of  the 
early  preachers,  so  that  all  evangelicals  in  Chile  are 
called  after  his  name,  a  la  Dowieites].  We  had  the 
impression  that  the  Lutheran  religion  had  gained  some 
ground  among  us,  thanks  to  the  persevering  labor  of 
the  Salvation  Army  which  under  pretense  of  fighting 


AFTERMATH  AND  ESTIMATES  237 

alcoholism  is  carrying  forward  a  formidable  prop- 
aganda in  favor  of  Protestantism.  In  a  word,  we 
were  convinced  beforehand  that  Protestantism,  in  spite 
of  its  exotic  character  as  regards  the  mentality,  the 
mode  of  life  and  the  religious  traditions  of  our  people, 
had  gained  a  few  adepts  [  ?]  among  the  Chileans. 
But  we  never  thought  that  the  thing  might  assume 
greater  proportions.  In  going  to  the  Comedy  Theater, 
we  imagined  that  we  would  find  it  more  or  less  filled 
with  foreigners,  numerous  misses  and  ladies,  a  few 
Chileans  more  or  less  curious  Hke  ourselves,  a  few 
women  of  our  land,  and  a  very,  very  few  specimens 
of  the  native  land  of  O'Higgins  and  Arthur  Prat, 
who,  as  is  known,  are  ardent  advocates  of  the  Virgin 
of  Carmen.  Our  surprise,  therefore,  was  great,  when 
we  found  the  theater  full  from  the  pit  to  the  highest 
gallery,  all  the  seats  occupied  by  a  gathering  that,  it  is 
true,  was  cosmopolitan,  but  in  which  the  national 
element  predominated." 

Then  follows  a  most  vivid  description  of  the  meet- 
ing itself,  concluding  with  this  characteristic  Latin- 
American  Catholic  estimate :  ''For  us,  all  this  had 
been  a  revelation.  Protestantism  has  advanced  con- 
siderably among  us.  Its  apostles,  those  who  propa- 
gate it,  its  elements  of  action,  are  formidable.  We  pro- 
pose to  study  with  all  calmness  and  with  a  spirit  free 
from  passion  that  which  the  advance  means  for  the 
country.  We  believe  it  involves  grave  perils  for  our 
social  tranquillity,  for  the  harmony  of  the  Chilean 
family.     Far  be  it  from  us  to  suppose  that  its  agents 


238  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

and  propagandists  deliberately  pretend  to  create  these 
disturbances.  But  their  work  is  bound  to  have  such 
an  unfortunate  result,  because  they  aspire  to  the  mak- 
ing of  Protestantism  the  national  religion;  and  this 
pretension,  as  history  shows,  has  made  seas  of  blood 
to  run  and  has  sunk  in  misery  those  peoples  who  have 
fallen  into  those  abysses  of  misfortune  known  as  re- 
ligious wars." 

From  the  Protestant  point  of  view  these  regional 
conferences  have  already  been  most  profitable.  Thus 
the  chairman  of  the  Havana  Conference,  Dr.  Thomp- 
son, said  at  its  closing  session:  "There  never  before 
was  an  occasion  in  Cuba  like  this.  We  have  had 
splendid  fellowship,  and  hereafter  we  can  cooperate. 
Panama  was  great,  but  this  has  been  more  concrete. 
We  have  never  had  such  companionship.  Before  the 
Panama  Congress  some  of  us  feared  that  some  ques- 
tions would  be  hard  to  answer;  but  now  we  can 
separate,  knowing  that  we  have  found  the  heart  and 
mind  of  one  another,  and  it  will  be  a  sweet  memory. 
We  can  do  much  better  together  than  any  of  us  can 
do  alone."  Secretary  McAfee  says  of  Havana :  "Those 
of  us  who  attended  the  conference  in  Cuba  are  ac- 
customed to  say  that  a  miracle  was  wrought  there 
and  there  are  a  good  many  evidences  of  it.  It  was  seen 
in  the  change  of  sentiment  on  the  part  of  leaders,  and 
it  was  marked  also  in  the  whole  atmosphere  and  temper 
of  the  conference."  A  "Committee  of  Conference  in 
Cuba"  appointed  in  consequence,  held  a  profitable  ses- 
sion at  Santa  Clara,  April  25-26. 


AFTERMATH  AND  ESTIMATES  239 

In  a  similar  strain  Dr.  Halsey  speaks  of  the  con- 
ference held  at  Lima:  "The  Lima  conference  was  a 
great  success.  .  .  .  The  newspapers  treated  us 
very  fairly,  giving  us  good  space,  and  we  received 
nothing  but  courteous  treatment  from  all  classes. 
.  .  .  At  the  beginning  the  national  workers  were 
a  little  slow  to  take  part  in  the  discussions,  but  as  the 
days  wore  on  they  realized  that  the  conference  was 
for  them,  and  they  freely  indulged  in  the  discussions. 
In  general  the  Lima  conference  was  characterized  by  a 
spirit  of  unity,  of  harmony  and  of  the  utmost  freedom 
in  stating  difficulties  with  great  stress  laid  on  co- 
operation." 

These  regional  conferences  did  not  cease  to  interest 
their  promoters  in  North  America  as  soon  as  they  dis- 
solved. Thus  the  deputation  appointed  to  hold  the 
South  American  conferences  met  in  Indianapolis  June 
14-16  to  review  their  work  there  and  to  draw  up  find- 
ings for  the  continent  as  a  whole.  They  prove  the 
high  value  of  such  regional  gatherings  and  also  of 
after  consultation  in  the  interests  of  furthering  what 
was  so  auspiciously  begun  at  the  field  centers. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  substantiate  the  contention 
of  Chapter  I  that  the  Panama  Congress  has  sur- 
passed not  only  the  World  Conference  of  19 10,  but 
all  others  in  the  speedy  mobilization  of  varied  forces 
called  for  by  the  discussions  and  papers  heard  there. 
Not  a  sign  of  flagging  interest  is  discernible  in  the 
various  committees  entrusted  with  large  cooperative 
responsibilities  in  Latin  America  and  in  North  Amer- 


240  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

ica.  The  almost  unbelievable  work  that  has  already 
been  accomplished — this  is  written  less  than  five 
months  after  the  dissolution  of  the  Panama  Congress 
— is  beyond  any  missionary  precedent.  Study,  as  well 
as  work,  is  likewise  in  progress.  Thus  at  the  date  of 
penning  this  paragraph  more  than  five  hundred  leaders 
of  young  people's  study  classes  throughout  the  eastern 
half  of  the  United  States  are  being  trained  to  lead 
groups,  many  of  them  to  study  Bishop  Stuntz's 
"South  American  Neighbors,"  while  Dr.  Speer's  two 
books  on  the  subject  of  Latin  America,  written  since 
the  Congress,  will  be  widely  used  by  study  classes 
within  nine  months  of  its  adjournment,  as  will  the 
present  volume.  Scientifically  conducted  investiga- 
tions, sane  and  frank  discussions,  wise  conclusions 
prayerfully  reached,  followed  by  local  application  of 
the  well-planned  program  to  local  needs,  constitute  an 
achievement  not  reached  hitherto  by  any  great  con- 
ference of  Christians. 

But  the  reader  will  be  especially  interested  to  know 
how  the  Congress  impressed  others  than  the  North 
Americans  who  are  here  mainly  spoken  of.  From  an 
English  paper  comes. this  estimate,  written  by  Secre- 
tary A.  S.  McNairn  of  Great  Britain's  Evangelical 
Union  of  South  America :  "To  sum  up  one's  impres- 
sions of  the  Congress:  It  was  a  time  of  deep  and 
refreshing  fellowship  with  men  whose  lives  have  been 
given  for  Latin  America  and  who  know  intimately  its 
deepest  needs.  It  was  a  period  of  abiding  inspiration, 
which  must  profoundly  affect  the  future  life  and  v/ork 


AFTERMATH  AND  ESTIMATES  241 

of  all  who  were  privileged  to  participate.  The  Con- 
gress was  characterized  by  deep  insight  and  broad 
outlook  and  by  its  frank  and  sincere  facing  of  the 
situation  and  courageous  handling  of  the  problems." 
From  the  Canal  Zone  itself  where  His  Lordship 
Rojas,  Bishop  of  Panama,  had  issued  his  "Voz  de 
Alerta  a  los  Catolicos/'  warning  his  flock  against  the 
campaign  to  be  started  by  the  Congress,  and  where 
the  Panama  Pan-American  Truth  Society  had  pre- 
sented delegates  with  a  copy  of  its  pamphlet  entitled, 
"The  Guerilla  Missionary  Congress,"  a  Catholic- 
owned  daily,  the  Star  and  Herald,  printed  an  edi- 
torial a  week  after  the  Congress  had  closed  entitled 
"Christian  Work,"  in  which  this  paragraph  occurs: 
"The  attitude  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  was 
clearly  antagonistic  to  the  enterprise  from  the  first; 
and  that  is  a  great  pity,  for  anything  that  advances  the 
cause  of  Christ  and  humanity  must  of  necessity  be  ad- 
vantageous to  that  Church,  if  it  proposes  to  keep 
abreast  of  the  times  and  to  keep  its  advanced  position 
as  the  champion  of  progress,  material  and  spiritual. 
No  Church  in  all  history  has  done  nobler  work  for 
humanity;  and  Catholic  missionaries  are  even  to-day 
the  pioneers  of  Christian  endeavor  in  the  dark  spots 
of  the  world.  It  thus  seems  all  the  more  difficult  to 
understand  why  the  Church  in  Panama  opposed  the 
holding  of  the  Congress  here,  and  why  the  authorities 
of  the  Church  forbade  its  members  from  having  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  enterprise.  Surely  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  is  not  willing  to  admit  that  it  fears 


242  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

to  compete  with  other  Churches  in  its  own  field. 
.  .  .  Nor  was  the  Congress  a  patronizing  snub  for 
the  people  of  Panama  and  their  Church.  Its  purpose 
was  as  stated,  and  there  never  was  the  slightest  indi- 
cation at  any  of  the  sessions  or  in  any  of  the  speeches 
that  the  delegates  had  any  motive  other  than  the  highly 
creditable  one  of  assisting  in  the  Christian  uplift  of 
the  peoples  of  Latin- American  origin.  Surely  it  is 
not  denied  that  there  is  ample  field  in  those  countries 
for  such  work.  .  .  .  The  world  has  reached  a 
stage  in  its  progress  wherein  selfishness  and  dogma 
must  give  way  to  the  altruistic  ideals  of  the  brother- 
hood of  man,  if  any  impression  is  to  be  made  on  the 
mass  of  sin  and  ignorance  that  infests  it.  The  Church 
should  include  all  creeds  and  its  one  essential  should 
be  belief  in  the  divine  mission  of  its  great  founder 
and  a  firm  intent  to  follow  in  His  footsteps." 

From  other  Latins  come  these  four  estimates  of  the 
Congress  at  Panama,  two  from  Portuguese-speaking 
and  two  from  Spanish-speaking  Latin  Americans.  The 
first  is  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  Efrain  Martinez,  a 
leader  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Chile  and  a  help- 
ful participant  in  the  Panama  discussions: 

"Allow  me  to  say  that  I  believe  the  Congress  will 
be  for  a  long  time  to  come  the  supreme  authority  and 
the  compass  for  all  the  missionary  activity  that  shall 
be  developed  in  Latin  America.  It  is  also  the  index 
of  the  power  wnth  which  the  last  command  and 
promise  of  Christ  beat  in  the  heart  of  the  Church.  I 
believe  that  we  all  ought  to  hope  that  the  two  greatest 


AFTERMATH  AND  ESTIMATES  243 

needs  of  the  work  will  be  satisfied, — that  union  and 
cooperation  of  the  missionary  forces  will  result,  and 
that  a  numerous  and  efficient  national  ministry  will  be 
raised  up. 

"In  Chile,  apart  from  the  need  of  continuing  the 
mutual  cooperation  begun  in  the  fusion  of  periodicals 
and  in  the  establishment  of  a  seminary  for  the  Pres- 
byterians, Methodists  and  the  Christian  and  Mission- 
ary Alliance,  we  hope  to  have,  as  a  consequence  of 
the  Congress,  a  national  ministry  capable  and  numer- 
ous, a  day  school  for  each  church,  a  great  enlarge- 
ment of  the  evangelistic  and  educational  forces  in  the 
plains  of  Chile  and,  above  all,  a  normal  school  and 
more  missionaries." 

The  second  Spanish  estimate  is  from  the  pen  of  an 
honored  Latin- American  jurist  who  came  at  his  own 
charges  to  the  Congress  and  whose  telling  address  is 
extracted  in  the  preceding  chapter.  The  Hon.  Emilio 
del  Toro,  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Porto  Rico,  writes :  *Tn  my  judgment,  it  will  not  be 
long  before  the  beneficent  influence  of  the  Congress 
of  Panama  will  be  felt  in  the  religious,  social,  moral 
and  educational  life  of  Latin  America.  As  I  said  in 
my  address  delivered  before  the  Congress,  I  firmly 
believe  that  to  spread  the  Reformation  intelligently  and 
vigorously  in  the  Latin-American  world  is  to  awaken 
struggles  of  conscience  in  which  will  be  forged  and 
tempered  those  great  characters  so  necessary  for  the 
uplifting  and  salvation  of  the  republics,  so  carrying 
into   it  the   quickening  breath   of   the   liberties   thus 


244  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

conquered  by  the  peoples  of  the  North.  Of  course, 
the  success  of  the  proposed  campaign  will  largely 
depend  upon  the  moral  stature  and  deeply  Christian 
spirit  of  those  in  charge  of  that  great  duty." 

Dr.  Jose  Carlos  Rodrigues,  former  editor  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  Jornal  do  Commercio,  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  is  a  Brazilian  whose  words  have  great  weight. 
His  opinion  follows.  "The  ideal  life  of  the  Christian 
would  be  like  that  of  Mary,  sitting  at  the  Master's  feet 
and  hearing  from  His  sacred  lips  ttjv  dyaOrjv  iie^ida, 
'the  good  part*  of  His  word.  Christ,  indeed,  addressed 
Himself  solely  to  the  individual  man.  He  was  not 
cumbered  with  serving  public  powers  or  nations,  but 
He  took  up  the  unit  of  man  whom  He  saved  and  in- 
structed. And  it  is  exactly  because  He  made  men  that 
He  has  become  forever  the  greatest  regenerating  and 
revolutionary  power  in  the  world. 

"It  is  a  hard  task  for  His  disciples,  however,  to 
collaborate  in  this  work  of  making  new  men.  To 
the  unspiritual  eye  this  beautiful  world  and  its  multi- 
fold temptations,  both  intellectual  and  sensual,  are 
constantly  working  to  frustrate  the  mightiest  Chris- 
tian exertions  to  induce  the  soul  to  come  to  Jesus'  feet. 
And,  as  if  that  were  not  enough,  there  is  on  our  con- 
tinent a  still  stronger  force  that  holds  back  the  soul 
from  the  fountain  of  Truth — our  great  inertia,  our 
carelessness  regarding  the  knowledge  of  God. 

"The  Panama  Congress  has,  I  think,  both  fully  and 
adequately  considered  the  various  agencies  that  help 
in  propagating  the  gospel,  and  on  the  other  hand  the 


AFTERMATH  AND  ESTIMATES  245 

problems  of  counteracting  the  many  devices  for  em- 
barrassing or  stopping  that  glorious  work.  The  result 
of  its  labors  cannot  fail  to  be  fruitful.  The  spirit  of 
liberty  permeates  the  South  American  soil;  and  the 
few  among  us  who  experience  the  ^glorious  liberty  of 
the  children  of  God^  will  certainly  become  radiating 
centers  of  the  truth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  indeed  the 
only  foundation  of  our  happiness  and  hope  and  of 
all  true  social  progress,  as  well  as  of  the  realization 
some  day  of  mankind's  highest  and  holiest  aspira- 
tions." 

It  is  probable  that  the  most  philosophical  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Panama  Congress  will  be  found  in  Pro- 
fessor Erasmo  Braga's  Portuguese  volume  describing 
it,  if  one  may  judge  by  its  preliminary  outline.  He 
has  kindly  supplied  this  statement:  "The  following 
observations  express  the  historical  and  religious  mean- 
ing of  the  Panama  Congress  as  defined  in  my  mind. 
The  most  interesting  feature  of  evangelical  Chris- 
tianity at  present  is  its  convergent  tendency.  If  we 
recall  how  individualism  developed  and  how  the  Prot- 
estant Churches  diverged  after  the  Reformation,  this 
new  tendency  appears  to  be  a  very  important  his- 
torical phenomenon.  The  Panama  Congress  was  one 
of  these  convergent  movements,  and  as  a  result  of  it, 
the  forces  of  evangelical  Christianity  are  probably 
about  to  be  consolidated  as  never  in  the  past. 

"The  social  and  religious  elements  of  the  Americas 
have  gathered  together  on  the  Isthmus  for  the  first 
time,  to  study  one  another  and  to  agree  on  some  plan 


246  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

of  cooperation  for  the  spiritual  uplift  and  salvation  of 
this  continent.  Since  the  days  when  the  Anglo-Saxon 
and  the  Norman  came  in  contact,  no  other  movement 
has  placed  the  Saxon  and  the  Latin  types  of  civiHza- 
tion  at  close  quarters  in  such  favorable  conditions  to 
exchange  their  differing  heritages.  At  Panama  both 
Saxons  and  Latins  met  in  spiritual  communion,  de- 
termined to  understand  and  love  one  another. 

"The  reports  prepared  for,  and  the  papers  produced 
by,  the  Panama  Congress  are  a  priceless  contribution 
to  the  study  of  Latin  America.  Nowhere  else  is  there 
to  be  found  such  a  mass  of  information  about  Latin 
America  from  the  point  of  view  of  our  social  and 
religious  evolution,  including  as  they  do  the  opinions 
of  Latin  Americans  themselves.  Latin-American 
womanhood  appears  in  these  studies  as  the  brightest 
element  of  our  social  and  moral  life,  and  the  op- 
portunities and  achievements  of  Latin  civilization  are 
listed  as  assets  to  be  duly  reckoned  with. 

"The  supreme  contribution  of  the  Panama  Congress 
to  the  solution  of  Pan-American  problems  is  the  re- 
affirmation of  the  fact  that  the  living,  personal  in- 
fluence of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  great  and  the  only  power 
needed  by  the  Latin-American  peoples  to  regenerate 
the  individual  man  and  to  build  up  free  and  Christian 
commonwealths.  It  is  only  Jesus  Christ — His  spirit, 
His  love.  His  law — that  can  give  spiritual  meaning 
to  Pan-Americanism.  It  was  a  loving  act  of  Prov- 
idence that  brought  this  Congress  into  being  at  such 
a  time  of  bitter  suffering  for  humanity." 


AFTERMATH  AND  ESTIMATES  247 

The  final  word  of  appreciation  should  be  uttered 
by  the  man  who  did  far  more  than  any  other  person 
to  create,  foster  and  bring  to  a  successful  issue  this 
epoch-marking  Congress.  The  Rev.  S.  G.  Inman,  its 
organizer  and  secretary,  has  this  to  say  of  Panama: 

"What  was  accomplished  at  Panama?  Daring 
would  be  the  attempt  fully  to  catalogue  the  results  of 
such  a  many-sided  gathering.  But  at  least  the  fol- 
lowing may  be  mentioned  : 

"First,  the  most  comprehensive  survey  of  the  social, 
educational,  and  religious  conditions  of  Latin  America 
ever  attempted  was  presented  through  the  commission 
reports  and  the  ten  days'  discussions  of  the  Congress. 

"Second,  this  survey  unquestionably  showed  that  the 
existing  moral  and  spiritual  life  of  these  young  nations 
demands  help  from  the  outside  for  its  proper  develop- 
ment, and  that  the  Latin  Americans,  far  from  resent- 
ing such  help,  heartily  welcome  its  coming  through 
evangelical  missionary  agencies. 

"Third,  the  study  of  the  Latin-American  people 
has  revealed  to  Anglo-Saxons  a  surprisingly  large 
number  of  praiseworthy  things  in  their  civilization, 
and  will  result  in  the  missionary  Societies  putting 
larger  emphasis  on  the  idea  of  cooperation  with  the 
Latin  Americans,  and  avoiding  in  all  possible  ways 
the  patronizing  and  critical  spirit.  The  high  quality 
of  the  Latin- American  delegates  to  the  Congress  and 
their  constructive  contribution  to  every  phase  of  the 
discussions  demonstrated  the  power  of  Latin  America 
to  furnish  the  highest  type  of  leadership  for  the  world's 


248  RENAISSANT  LATIN  AMERICA 

Spiritual  life,  when  given  the  proper  opportunities  for 
its  development. 

^'Fourth,  it  proved  conclusively  that  the  greatest  im- 
pelling force  to  bring  men  of  different  nations  and 
different  creeds  together  is  not  uniformity  of  belief 
but  the  burden  of  great  tasks.  The  remarkable  unity 
of  the  Congress  was  due  to  its  facing  of  human  need, 
and  this  unity  was  threatened  only  when  its  attention 
was  turned  from  the  need  by  a  suggestion  that  it 
define  itself  by  dogmatic  statement. 

"Fifth,  it  was  demonstrated  (a)  that  the  spirit  of 
Christ  can  so  sway  men  that  it  is  possible  for  those  of 
such  different  inheritances  and  diverging  prejudices 
as  Anglo-Saxons  and  Latins  to  sit  down  together  and 
discuss  with  perfect  frankness  the  most  intimate 
phases  of  their  individual  and  national  life  in  such  a 
way  as  to  come  to  an  ever-increasing  regard  for  one 
another  and  an  ever-increasing  agreement  as  to  the 
solution  of  their  problems;  (b)  that  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity has  developed  to  the  point  where  it  can  meet 
in  a  Roman  Catholic  country  and  discuss  frankly  the 
religious  problems  of  lands  predominantly  Roman 
Catholic  in  such  a  spirit  of  fairness  and  humility,  and 
withal  fearlessness,  as  to  commend  itself  to  fair- 
minded  men  of  all  creeds  and  to  contribute  in  a  note- 
worthy way  to  the  binding  together  of  the  divergent 
and  often  warring  elements  of  such  a  polyglot  com- 
munity as  Panama. 

"Sixth,  the  immediate  practical  result  of  the  Con- 
gress   was    the    organization    of    the    Committee    on 


AFTERMATH  AND  ESTIMATES  249 

Cooperation  in  Latin  America  to  continue  the  work 
of  the  Congress  and  carry  out  its  recommendations 
concerning  an  enlarged,  more  efficient  and  more  closely 
coordinated  Christian  work  in  Latin  America.  Thirty- 
four  missionary  Societies,  practically  all  those  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada  supporting  work  in  Latin 
America,  have  elected  members  of  this  Committee, 
making  it  officially  representative  of  these  Boards. 
The  machinery  for  quick  and  united  action  has  still 
further  been  perfected  by  the  election,  by  each  of  the 
seven  regional  conferences  held  immediately  following 
the  Panama  Congress,  of  a  field  committee  which  is 
to  cooperate  with  the  larger  home  base  committee. 

"Thus  the  Congress  has  devised  a  complete  chain 
whose  various  links  provide  for  united,  economical, 
pervasive,  and  effective  processes  for  making  Christ 
known,  loved  and  obeyed  in  every  part  of  Latin 
America." 


INDEX 


"A.  B.  C,  countries"  linked  to  United 
States,   5,   6. 

Addresses  of  the  Congress,  special, 
see  ch.  X,  pp.   207-28. 

Africa,  cooperation  in  Belgian 
Congo,  203-4. 

Agricultural  colleges,  89. 

Agricultural  education,  82-3,  104. 

Aim  of  church  work  in  Latin  Amer- 
ica,  139. 

Alexander,  G.,  Congress  sermon, 
226-7. 

Allison,  W.  B.,  warning  against 
Catholic  commendation,   74. 

Almeida,  J.  F.  d',  version  of  Portu- 
guese New  Testament,  113. 

American  Bible  Society,  exhibit  at 
Congress,   16. 

Ancon,   4. 

Ancud,  Bishop  of,  Christ  of  the 
Andes,   y6-7. 

Andreve,  G.,  welcome  to  the  Con- 
gress, 20. 

Anti-Catholic  propaganda  deprecated, 
178. 

Aristocratic  class,  38. 

Assets  of  Latin-American  Missions, 
51-2. 

Attendance  at  evangelical  services, 
154-S. 

B 

Bandeirantes,  30. 

Barnes,  L.  C,  devotional  address, 
208. 

Barroetavena,  F.  A.,  advocated  op- 
position to  Catholics,  71;  at  Lima 
conference,   236. 

Beach,  H.   P.,  reply  to  question,  so. 

Benevente,  Bishop,  Christ  of  the 
Andes,   137- 

Bennett,  Miss  B.  H.,  chairman  of 
Commission  V,    123. 

Bible:  how  presented,  65;  and  Lan- 
casterian  schools,  91-2;  Protestant 
versions  in  Iberian  tongues,  112-3; 
Catholic  versions,  113-4;  why 
translations  are  desirable,  114; 
guide  of  new  convert,  143;  study 
variable,   155. 

Bible    Societies,    good   work,    44. 

Biography   stimulates  interest,    169. 

BixTer,  C.  £.,  on  agricultural  educa- 
tion, 104. 

Board  of  Mistionary  Preparation, 
183-4. 


Boggs,  S.  W.,  maps,  16. 

Braga,  E.,  prayer  quoted,  53;  im- 
proving theological  education,  105- 
6;  "Claims  of  Christ  on  Thinking 
Men,"  216;  estimate  of  Congress, 
24S-6. 

Brandon,  E.  E.,  quoted,  86. 

Brazil,   efifccts    of   miscegenation   in, 

36  (s). 

Brewer,  G.  H.,  adequacy  in  occupa- 
tion,   50. 

British  Guiana's  schools,  92. 

Brooks,    Phillips,    quoted,    18 1-2. 

Brotherly  relations  with  Latin  Amer- 
icans,  178-9. 

Brown,  W.  A.,  devotional  address, 
208. 

Brown,  W.  C,  incident  narrated, 
76-9;  two  prayer  incidents,   182. 

Browning,  W.  E.,  Spanish  inter- 
preter of  Congress,  19;  weaknesses 
in  education,  104-5;  welcomed  by 
Catholic  bishop,   181. 

Brycc,  Lord:  estimate  of  early  con- 
querors, ^0;  on  miscegenation,  36; 
real  missionary  problems,   107-8. 

Buenos  Aires,  its  claims  for  the 
Congress,  3-3. 

Business  Committee  of  Congress,  17. 

Business  men  in  Latin  America, 
38-9,  49. 

Butler,  Miss  C,  syndicated  period- 
ical,  116. 


Calderon,  F.  G.,  quoted  on  popu- 
lations, 27;  Latin-American  races, 
35;   "babel  of  races,"   56. 

Canadian    Presbyterian    giving,    45. 

Canal,  see  Panama  Canal. 

Canal  Zone:  Sunday  services,  20; 
healthfulness  to-day,  20. 

Carnegie  Endowment  International 
Peace,    6. 

Castro,  R.  B.,  quoted,  221-2. 

Cepero,  J.  R.,  caution  in  receiving 
converts.  145. 

Chester,  S.  H.,  special  churches  for 
intellectuals,  164;  motives  of  giv- 
ers, 172;  cooperation  in  Africa, 
203-4. 

Christ  of  the  Andes,   135-6, 

Christian   Century  quoted,   235-8. 

Church,  Evangelical:  duty  in  Latin 
America,  39-40;  two- fold  affirma- 
tion, 65-6;  emphasizes  a  living 
Christ,  66;  fellowship,  67;  worship. 


251 


252 


INDEX 


68;  social  gospel,  68;  better  build- 
ings, 67-8;  fully  discussed  in  ch. 
VII,  pp.  139-164;  general  purpose 
of  evangelical  work,  139;  Church 
defined,  139-40;  relation  to  Roman- 
ism, 140-2;  experiences  of  con- 
verts, 142-4;  Moorish  influence, 
144;  race  elements,  145;  cate- 
chumenate  desirable,  14S-6;  per- 
sonal work,  146;  young  people's 
societies,  146-7;  Sunday  schools, 
147-8;  special  evangelistic  efforts, 
148;  social  work,  148-9;  limitations 
because  of  Catholicism,  149-50; 
discipline,  150;  Sunday  observ- 
ance, 150-2;  intemperance,  152; 
gambling,  152-3;  spiritual  life,  153- 
4;  church  attendance,  154;  leader- 
ship important,  155;  devotional 
literature  lacking,  15S-6;  self -prop- 
agation, 156-7;  self-support,  157-9; 
self-government,  159;  move  toward 
independence,  160;  indigenous 
leadership  inadequate,  160-2;  secur- 
ing and  educating  leaders,  162-4; 
trend  toward  national  Church, 
197-8. 

Church  of  Sr.  Alvaro  Reis,  6-7. 

Cincinnati  plans  for  Mexico,  229-31. 

"City  of  Dreadful  Night,"  213-4. 

Colton,  E.  T.,  chairman  Commission 
I,  25;  latest  news  as  to  survey, 
232. 

Columbus  preaching  in  Havana,  140. 

Clark    University   conferences,    177. 

Clemenceau,   G.,   cited,    124. 

Colegios,   85-6. 

Colmore,  C.  B,,  securing  strong  na- 
tive writers,   118-9. 

Color  line  absent  in  Latin  Amer- 
ica,  35- 

Colporteurs  eulogized,   121-2. 

Commentaries   desirable,    ii4-5- 

Commissions,    11-2. 

"Committee  of  Conference  In  Cuba," 
238. 

Committee  on  Cooperation  in  Latin 
America,  201-2,  231-3;  value  in 
future,  248-9. 

Concentration   in   Missions,   49. 

Conferences  on  Latin  America,  mis- 
sionary, 175;  promotive  of  coop- 
eration, 199-200;  regional  after 
Congress,    233-9. 

Congresses  for  Latin  America:  at 
Washington  and  elsewhere,  i ;  at 
Panama,    1826,    2. 

Congress,  Panama,  of  1916:  why 
notable,  1-2;  place  of,  3-5;  timeli- 
ness, 5-7;  genesis,  7-9;  objections 
to,  9-1 1 ;  carefully  prepared  for, 
11;  attendance,  14-5;  its  hall,  15-6; 
officers  and  Business  Committee, 
16-7;  program,  17-9;  its  languages, 
i8-b;    official    interpreters,    18-9. 


Conquistadores,  30;  religious  objec- 
tives,   59-60. 

Controversy  with  Romanists  dis- 
cussed, 65. 

Converts  from  Catholicism's  experi- 
ence,  142-3, 

Cook,  E.  F.,  on  unified  salaries,  194. 

Coope,  Miss  A,,  work  for  San  Bias 
Indians,    131-2. 

Cooperation  and  Unity:  fully  dis- 
cussed in  ch.  IX,  pp.  187-205;  ex- 
emplified in  occupation,  188-90; 
uniformity  in  message,  190-1;  co- 
operation in  education,  191-2;  in 
literature,  192-3;  in  woman's  work, 
193;  in  building  up  Church,  193-4; 
at  the  home  base,  195;  with  the 
government,  195-6;  conforming  to 
national  aspirations  and  ideals,  196; 
building  up  a  national  Church, 
197-8;  cooperation  with  Romanists 
impracticable  now,  198-9;  in  con- 
ferences, 199-200;  in  prayer,  200-1; 
through  enlarged  Committee  on 
Cooperation  in  Latin  America,  201- 
2;  possible  misunderstandings,  202; 
"three  engines  in  one,"  203;  illus- 
trated in  Belgian  Congo,  203-4; 
rivalry  vs.  cooperation,  204;  aided 
by  "change  of  climate,"  204-5; 
missionary  plenipotentiaries,  205; 
how  it  works  in  Mexico,  229-31; 
permanent  committee  on,  231. 

Corda  Fratres,    174. 

Cortes,  Srta.  E.,  how  won  to  Christ, 
71;  social  worker,  Y.  W.  C.  A., 
133- 

Cosmopolitan  clubs,   174. 

Costa,  Sefiora  de,  Christ  of  the 
Andes,    137. 

Council  of  Women  for  Home  Mis- 
sions, study  text-books,   176. 

Coyoacan   College,    191. 

Cross,  how  regarded  by  converts, 
143-4- 

Cruz,  Dr.  Oswaldo,  34. 

Cuba,  committee  on  conference  in, 
238. 

D 

Daugherty,  S.  D.,  business  men  go- 
ing to  Latin  America,  49. 

Dav  nurseries  helpful,   129-30. 

Delegates  of  Congress,  fellowship  of, 
4-S- 

Del  Toro,  E.,  "The  Principles  and 
Spirit  of  Jesus,"  221-4;  estimate 
of  Congress,    243-4. 

De  Schweinitz,  P.,  devotional  ad- 
dress.   208. 

Destitution  in  Latin  America,  spirit- 
ual, 45. 

Dexter,  E.  G.,  introduced  Dr.  Mott, 
20;  Latin- American  teachers  vs. 
missionary,  101. 


INDEX 


253 


Discipline  in  evangelical  Church, 
150,  153;  common  understanding 
desirable,   194- 

Dollar,  how  each  is  spent  in  Latin- 
American  missions,    172. 

Dominicans  establish  Inquisition,  61. 

E 

Edinburgh  World  Conference,  J910: 
its  Levant  conferences  postponed, 
7;  did  not  include  Latin  America, 
8;  compared  with  Panama  Con- 
gress,  1 1-3. 

Education  in  Latin  America:  full 
discussion,  ch.  IV;  significant  facts, 
82;  illiteracy,  83;  sparse  popula- 
tion hampers  education,  83-4;  gov- 
ernment institutions,  84-6;  secular- 
ized, 87;  solidarity  lacking  in  gov- 
ernment universities,  88;  technical 
schools,  88-9;  Catholic  educational 
work,  90-1;  historical  sketch  of 
Protestant  education,  91-2;  forms 
of  recent  educational  work,  93-100; 
character-begetting  power,  100; 
common  sense  needed,  loi;  hostels 
desirable,  102;  intellectual  free- 
dom, 103;  Brazil  needs  agricultural 
education,  104;  weakness  of  mis- 
sionary education,  104-5;  correc- 
tives for  theological  education,  105- 
6;  interdenominational  cooperation 
demanded,  106;  Bryce's  criticism 
of  Latin  schools,  107-8;  depend- 
ence on  Christian  literature,  iio-i; 
kindergartens  helpful,  129;  mission 
normal  schools,  130;  Miss  Coope's 
Indian  work,  13 1-2;  cooperation 
discussed,  191-3;  deputation  to  S. 
America,  231-2, 

Elementary  schools:  government's, 
84-5;  Ross  on,  90-1;  missionary, 
93-S;  for  Indians,  94-5. 

Elphick,  R.,  on  Chile's  needs,  46; 
Old  Testament  after  New  Testa- 
ment,  115. 

Environmental  influence  of  Latin 
America,   31. 

Estimates  of  the  Congress,  ch.  XI, 
pp.    229-249. 

European  War:  and  the  Congress,  7; 
Dr.   Mott  on,  210-1. 

Evangelistic  work:  Mott  and  Miss 
Rouse  on.  74-5 ;  literature  in,  111; 
meetings,  148. 

Evening  sessions  of  Congress,   19. 

Evolution,  Bishop  McConnell  upon, 
216-7. 

Ewald,  C.  J.,  Association  work  for 
students,   72-3. 

Ewbank,  A.,  quoted,   137. 

Ewing,  H.  E.,  work  for  students,  73. 

Expenditure  on  Latin-American  mis- 
sions,  170-2. 


Fatherhood  of   God  attractive,    73-4. 
Fellowship  of  the  Congress,  4-5. 
Filipino  teacher's  greeting,  22-2. 
Finlc]^  Dr.  C.  A.,  34. 
Fox,  J.,  103. 


Galvao,  A.,  "Conception  of  God," 
162. 

Gambling  through  lotteries,  in 
Panama,  141;  difficult  to  give  up, 
152-3. 

Garden  City,  L.  I.,  Conference  and 
Congress,  7-9. 

Giving  to  missions  in  Latin  Amer- 
ica,  45. 

God,  conception  of  by  Galvao,   162. 

Goethals,   General,    20. 

Gomara  quoted,  61-2. 

Gonzalez,  J.  O.,  on  how  to  teach, 
102;  conception  of  a  Latin-Amer- 
ican  missionary,    184-5. 

Gorgas,  General,  20. 

Goucher,  J.  F.,  cooperation  in  edu- 
cation, 106;  "The  Triumphs  of 
Christianity,"   226. 

Government  aiding  missions,  195-6; 
missionaries    aiding,    205. 

Granberry   College,    96. 

Great  Commission  misread,   169. 

Grenfcll,  Dr.,  quoted,  70. 

Grubb,  W.  B.,  quoted,  94-5;  govern- 
ment  commissioner,    195. 

"Guerilla  Missionary  Congress,"  241. 


H 


Hale,  A.,  quoted,  124. 

Halscy,  A.  W.,  Lima  regional  con- 
ference, 239. 

Hamilton,   Mrs.   F..  a  pioneer,   129. 

Hartmann,  Mrs.  M.,  Moravian 
pioneer,    127-8. 

Havana   regional   conference,   238. 

Health  of  Canal  Zone  to-day,  20-1. 

Hicks,  H.  W.,  chairman  of  Com- 
mission VII,   165. 

Higher  educational  institutions,  96-8. 

History  of  Latin  America  inter- 
preted,   56-8. 

Home  Base:  full  discussion  of  in 
ch.  VIII,  pp.  165-83;  discussion 
limited  to  N.  America's  societies, 
165;  prayer  fundamental,  165-6; 
abnormal  attitude  toward  work  in 
Latin  lands.  166-7;  interest  now 
growing,  167-8;  constructive  pro- 
gram of  education  needed,  168-9^; 
statistics  apt  to  mislead,  169-70; 
society  survey,  170-1;  financial 
items,    17 1-2;    motives    to    giving. 


254 


INDEX 


172;  Home  B»8€  by-products,  172- 
3;  Ivatin- American  students  in 
sending  countries,  173-4;  promot- 
ing prayer,  174;  developing  inter- 
est, 174-s;  conferences,  175:  study 
of  Latin  America,  176;  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
methods  of  promotion,  176-7;  pic- 
tures and  dramatics,  177;  securing 
adequate  support,  177;  recognition 
of  N.-Amencan  weakness,  178; 
strengthening  brotherly  relations, 
178-9;  style  in  promoting  litera- 
ture, 179-80;  publicity  work  at 
home,  180;  Bp.  Lambuth's  plan, 
181;  British  criticism  of  Latin 
missions  met,  182;  prayer  helpful, 
182;  the  home  ministry  a  key  to 
getting  candidates,  183;  coopera- 
tion at,  195. 
Rowland,  J.,  on  the  Latin  American, 

lOO-I. 

Rowland,  Mrs.  J.,  woman's  work  in 

homes,  133. 
Hurrey,    G.    D.,    work    for   educated 

classes,  7a. 
Hymnology  deficient,  120. 


Illiteracy  in   Latin   America,   83. 

Immigration  to  Latin  America,  27-8. 

Immorality  forced  on  women,  126. 

Independent  Brazilian  Presbyterian 
churches,   158-60. 

Indianapolis  conference  on  regional 
conferences,    239. 

Indians  of  Latin  America:  present 
degradation,  36;  described,  36; 
number  neglected,  40,  44;  Tucker's 
plea  for,  48;  Olcott's,  48;  Specr 
on,  52;  religions  of,  58;  elemen- 
tary schools  for,  94-S;  their 
women's  condition,  126-7;  Miss 
Coope's  work  for,  13 1-2;  element 
in    evangelical    Church,     145;    un- 

f»rovided  for  religiously,  190;  need 
ove   and   sympathy,   223. 

Industrial  schools,  95. 

Inman,  S.  G.,  estimate  of  Congress 
reports,  12;  secretary  Cooperation 
Committee,  231;  reports  concern- 
ing Scotch  participation,  232;  on 
reports  of  the  Congress,  233;  esti- 
mate of  Congress,  247-9. 

Inquisition  in  Latin  America,  61. 

Instituto   Evangelico  at  Lavras,  96. 

Instituto    Nacional    meeting,    19. 

Intellectuals  of  Latin  America:  perils 
to  their  faith,  39;  groups,  39;  how 
reached,  70-3,  162;  special  churches 
for,  164;  addresses  of  Congress 
for,  214-8. 

Intemperance,   15a. 

Interest  in  Latin-American  missions 
growing,   167-8. 


International  law  authorities,  34. 
Interpretation     of     Latin    America's 

religious  position,   56-64. 
Interpreters     of     Congress,     official, 

18-9. 
Italians  in   Argentina.    52. 


Jesuits:  in  Paraguayan  Chaco,  33; 
foremost   Order   in    Missions,    60. 

Jesus  Christ,  our  attitude  should  be 
like  His,  212-3;  knocking  at  the 
door,  214,  227;  central  in  life. 
216;  "The  Immutable  Christ," 
226-7. 

Jones,  S.,  importance  of  Sunday- 
school  work,  147-8. 


Kindergartens,  93;  argument  for, 
129. 

King,  H.  C,  presents  Education 
report,  81-3;  character-begetting 
power,  100;  on  modernism,  102-3; 
Christian  leadership,  106;  devo- 
tional address,  208;  science  aiding 
progress,  215. 

KinsoTving,  L.  L.,  presides  at  Lima 
conference,  236. 


Lake  Mohonk  Conference,  177. 

Lambuth,  W.  R.,  plan  for  occupa- 
tion, 181. 

Lancasterian   schools,    91-2. 

Lane,  H.   M.,  eulogized,  97. 

Languages  of  Congress,  18-9;  kin- 
ship of  Iberian  tongues  helpful, 
41-2;   missionary  peril,   42. 

Las  Casas:  humane  legislation  due 
to  him,    32;    his  book,   33. 

Latin  America:  defined,  25-26;  area 
and  population,  26;  comparative 
areas,  26;  possible  future  popula- 
tion, 27;  immigration,  27-8;  re- 
sources,  28-9. 

Latin  Americans:  Congress  delegates 
characterized,  14;  Brjrce's  estimate 
of  conquerors,  30;  Yanes'  estimate 
of  them,  31;  famous  patriots,  33; 
literary  men,  33;  physicians,  34; 
attitude  toward  N.  America,  42-3; 
interpretation  of  its  history,  56-8; 
theory  of  state  and  society,  64; 
two  dislikes,  67;  Howland's  char- 
acterization, loo-i;  Bryce  on  prob- 
lems, 107-8;  womanhood,  124-7; 
women  students,  130-1;  Latin  ele- 
ment in  evangelical  Church,  145; 
pride  of  race,   149;  gambling  com- 


INDEX 


255 


mon,  152-3;  in  last  analytic  stag* 
of  science,  217;  value  of  Congress 
in  interpreting  them,  247. 

La  Union  quoted,  236-7. 

Leadership,  evangelical:  aided  by 
evangelical  literature,  no;  spirit- 
uality desirable,  155;  addresses  on, 
219-21. 

Lecky,  W.   E.  H.,  cited,  225, 

Lectureships  for  Latin  America,  103. 

Lefevre,  E.,  welcomes  Panama  Con- 
gress, i;  bilingual  address,  19; 
address  outline,  208-10. 

Lenington,  R.  F.,  Fatherhood  of 
God,  73-4. 

Liceos,   85-6. 

Lima  regional  conference,  234-6. 

Literature,  evangelical:  full  discus- 
sion of,  ch.  V,  pp.  109-122; 
exhibit  at  Panama,  16;  Dr. 
Ritson  on,  109-11;  Bible  central, 
1 1 2-4;  other  related  literature, 
114-6;  desirable  varieties,  11 6-8; 
securing  strong  writers,  11 8-9; 
character  of  books  to  be  written, 
119;  books  on  Christian  nurture, 
119-20;  general  literature  desirable, 
120;  hymnology  deficient,  120; 
traqts  and  leaflets  demanded,  120-1; 
for  Sunday  schools,  120;  colpor- 
teurs, 121-2;  cooperation  especially 
needed,  122;  lacking  for  women, 
135;  woman's  magazine  wanted, 
135-6:  devotional  works  lacking, 
155;  literary  style  aids,  179;  union 
plans  for,  192-3;  antichristian,  193; 
work  since  Congress  on  literature, 

Livingstone,  D.,  his  prayer,  213. 
Lloyd,    A.     S.,    devotional    address, 

53-4,  208. 
Lord's    Prayer   expounded,    73. 
Lotteries,  see  Gambling. 


M 


McAfee,  J.  E.,  Protestantism's  divi- 
sions, 50;  Havana  conference,  238. 

McConnell,  F.  J.,  quotes  Phillips 
Brooks,  181-2;  spiritual  climate 
and  cooperation,  204-5;  "Chris- 
tian Faith  in  an  Age  of  Science," 
216-8. 

Mackenzie  College,  96-7. 

MacLaren.  D.  C,  chairman  Commis- 
sion  III,  81. 

McLean,  A.,  devotional  address,  208. 

McLean,  J.,  Plea  for  Latin-American 
students,  48;  missionaries  and  gov- 
ernments, 205. 

McNairn,  A.  S.,  English  objectors 
to  Latin  missions,  182;  estimate  of 
the   Congress,    240-1. 

Maps  of  occupation,  16,  188. 


Martinez,  E.,  estimate  of  Congress, 
242-3. 

Martyrs,    in    Mexico,    149. 

"Matt  H.   Shay"  illustration,  203. 

Memoriter  teaching,  85. 

Message  and  Method:  fully  discussed 
in  ch.  Ill,  pp.  55-79;  complicated 
questions,  56;  historical  interpre- 
tation, 56-8;  inheritance  from 
primitive  faiths,  58;  key  to  under- 
standing Roman  Church,  58-63; 
evangelical  history,  63-4;  the  mis- 
sionary, 6s;  his  message  biblical, 
65-6;  enlargement  of  Roman  ideas, 
66-7;  spiritual  life,  67;  church 
fellowship,  67;  worship,  68;  social 
gospel,  68;  object-lessons,  68-70; 
reaching  the  educated,  70-1,  yz-j,; 
God's  fatherhood,  73-4;  evangel- 
istic campaigns,  74-5;  illustration 
of  message  and  method,  76-9;  char- 
acter of  the  common  message, 
190-1. 

Methods  of  mission  work,  Roman 
Catholic,    61-2. 

Mexico:  special  meeting  on,  6;  early 
missions  in,  128-9;  friction  in  co- 
operation in,  202;  special  meeting 
for,  229-31;  conference  in  October, 

Ministry  can  aid  in  getting  candi- 
dates,   183. 

Miscegenation,   effects   of,    36-7. 

Mission  study  classes  in  S.  America, 
240. 

Missionaries,  Evangelical :  require- 
ments, 65;  what  they  should  b©, 
160-1,    184-5;    Sr.   Pereira  on,   220. 

Missionaries,  Roman  Catholic:  work 
of  the  Orders,  32;  entries  and 
conquests  of  souls,  32;  estimate  of, 
59-61;   methods,  61-2. 

Missionary  Education  Movement, 
175-6. 

Missions,  evangelical:  justified  in 
Catholic  lands,  41;  encourage- 
ments, 41-2;  obstacles,  42-3;  sum- 
mary statement,  44-5  5  extension 
and  intension,  49;  disunited  ranks, 
50;  favorable  facts,  50-1;  three 
assets,  51-2;  three  needs,  52; 
duties,  53;  historical  outline,  64; 
why  promote  the   work,    168-9. 

Monroe  Doctrine:  influenced  by  the 
Congress,   5;   Latin  suspicions,  42. 

Monteverde,  E.,  Congress  president, 
16;  characterizes  ideal  Latin  mis- 
sionary. 185;  speaker  at  Lima  con- 
ference,  236. 

Monteverde,  Sefiora  A.  de,  com- 
mends Y.  W.   C.  A.  work,   133. 

Moorish  influence  in  evangelical 
Churches,  144. 

Mora,  L.  G.,  on  Mexico's  needs,  46; 
on  Mexican  martyrs,  149. 


256 


INDEX 


Morris,  C,  his  Argentine  evangelical 
schools,  93;  aided  by  government, 
195. 

Morrison,  C.  C,  regional  confer- 
ences,   23S-8.  „       ,        ,     . 

Moses,  B..  quoted  on  Pope  s  relation 
to  Latin  America,   59- 

Motives  to  supporting  Latin-Amer- 
ican   missions,    172. 

Mott,  J.  R.,  response  to  address  of 
welcome,  1-2 ;  on  timeliness  of 
Congress,  5-6;  chairman  Business 
Committee,  17 1  evangelistic  cam- 
paigns, 74-5;  Japan's  method  of 
securing  writers,  118;  brotherly 
spirit  commended,  179;  on  the 
European  war,  210-1;  closing 
prayer  of  Congress,  227-8;  on  Cin- 
cinnati plan,  229-30. 

N 
National     Church     leadership,     160, 

Nationalism  strong  in  Porto  Rico 
and  Brazil,    196.   ,         .  ,,       . 

Needs  of  Latin  America:  Moras 
statement  of.  46;  Elphick  s  state- 
ment, 46;  Stuntz's  statement,  46; 
three,   52.  .         .         ,  u* 

Negroes  of  Latin  America:  brought 
as  slaves,  30;  six  millions  neg- 
lected by  Church,  40. 

Normal  schools  for  women,  130. 

North-American  Committee  on  Anglo- 
American  Communities  Abroad, 
1 73. 

North-American  supporters  of  Latin- 
American  missions,  165. 

Novels,  high-class  ones  helpful,   120. 

O 

Objections  to  convening  Panama 
Congress,    lo-i. 

Obstacles  to  Latin  missions,  42-3- 

Occupation,  see  Survey  and  Occupa- 
tion- ,    ,. 

Olcott,  E.   E.,  on  Indians,  48. 

Oldham.  W.  F.,  opening  prayer,  2^; 
his  "loving  method,  72;  lock- 
operator  of  Congress,  75-6;  size  of 
the  Latin-American  job,  168;  lu 
opening  services,   212.  , 

Orders,  Roman  Catholic,  work  in 
Latin    America,    60-1. 

Osuna,  A.,  chairman  Commission  IV, 
III. 

Palacios,   Srta.   J.,   Mexican   view  of 

Bible,  US- 
Panama      Canal:      importance,      3-4; 

made  new   world   map.    s;    visited, 

20. 
Panama  city:  history,  i;  why  chosen 

for  the  Congress,   3-4;   other  con- 


gresses, 2;  its  Bishop  and  the  Con- 
gress, 10^  visited,  21;  its  missions, 
21;  on  bunday,  141. 
Panama  News  Letter  quoted,  3. 
Panama  Republic's  constitution,  209. 
Pan-American  Scientific  Congress,  6. 
Paraguayan      Chaco:      Jesuit      work 

there,  z^;  Protestants  there,  44. 
Parochial   schools,   evangelical,   94. 
Patriots,    Latin-American,    33. 
Paul,    C.    T      "The    Principles    and 

Spirit   of  Jesus,"    224-5. 
Paulistas,    30.^ 

Penzotti,   F.,  imprisoned,   149. 
Peons,   36-7. 
People's      Central      Institute,      68-9; 

aided   by   government,    195. 
Pereira,    E.    C,   ranks   disunited,   49- 
50;  Catholic  errors,  74;  ideal  Latin 
missionary,     186;     "True     Leaders 
the  Fundamental  Need,"  219-20. 
Periodicals    of   churches    help    Latin- 
American  missions  little,    175. 
Personal  work  in  evangelical  Church, 

146. 
Peru,   plea  for,   47. 
Photography  aids.    180. 
Physicians,  noted  Latin- American,  34. 
Piedras  Negras  Institute:  an  object- 
lesson,  6;  its  program,  69-70;  aided 
by  government,    195. 
Pope  and  Latin  Arnerica,  59. 
Populations  of  Latin  America,  26-8. 
Porto    Rico    situation    queried,    189: 
its  workers  aid  government,  19S-6; 
nationalistic    feeling   strong   there, 
196;  benefits  from  missions,  222-2,. 
Prayer:  at  daily  sessions,   17-18;  Bp. 
Oldham's,    22;     Bp.     Lloyd's,     54; 
Prof.     Braga's,    54;     for    Commis- 
sion II,   55 ;   too  formal  and  easy, 
154;    especially   needed    for    Home 
Base,     165-6;     promotion     through 
calendars,    etc.,     174;     suggestions 
concerning,    177;    essential    for  co- 
operation, 200-1 ;  closing  prayer  of 
Congress,  227-8. 
Presbyterian  Churches  in  Brazil,  in- 
dependent,   158-60. 
Principles     of    mission     work.     Miss 

Rankin's,    128-9. 
Printing  early  in  Latin  America,  33- 
Program  of  Congress,    17-9. 
Publicity  bureaus,    180. 
Puritans    in    the    New    World,    30, 
221-2. 

R 
Races  of  Latin  America:  Numerical 
statement.  34;  no  color  line,  35  5 
miscegenation  effects,  36-7;  claims 
on  evangelicals,  38-9;  feeling 
against  other  races,  42. 
Rainey,  W.  H.,  one  evangelical  uni- 
versity,   106. 


INDEX 


257 


Rankin,  Miss  M.,  Mexican  pioneer, 
128-0. 

Ravi,  v.,  Waldensians  in  Uruguay, 
231. 

Reformation   spreading,   223. 

Regional  conferences,   233-9. 

Reina,  C.  de.  Bible  version,   112. 

Reis,  Sr.  Alvaro,  his  church,  6-7;  on 
education,  101-2;  "The  Vital 
Power  of  Christianity,"  225;  at 
Lima   conference,    236. 

Religions  of  indigenous  inhabitants 
of  Latin  America,   58. 

Religious  liberty  not  fully  assured 
in   Latin  America,  43. 

Resources  of  Latin  America,  28-9; 
Barrett's  prediction,    29. 

Restlessness  of  better  class  of  church 
members,    159-60. 

Revell,  F.  H.,  evangelical  literature, 
116;   rivalry  and  cooperation,  204. 

Rio  de  Janeiro:  its  claims  for  the 
Congress,  2;  health  reclamation, 
34;  Archbishop  of,  value  of  ver- 
nacular translations,    114. 

Ritchie,  J.,  plea  for  Peru,  47. 

Ritson,  J.  H.,  on  Christian  literature, 
109-11. 

Robinson,  Canon,  on  Catholic  mis- 
sions, 63. 

Rodrigues,  J.  C,  estimate  of  Con- 
gress,  244-5. 

Roman  Catholic  Church:  attitude  to- 
ward Congress,  lo-i;  not  helpful 
to  intellectuals,  39;  its  missions 
justified.  41 ;  cooperation  with,  im- 
possible, 43;  Protestant  criticisms 
of,  47;  delegates'  relation  to  it, 
56;  four  facts  help  understand  it, 
58-63;  spirit  and  method,  61-2; 
present  status,  62-3;  defects,  63; 
spiritual  life  imperilled,  67;  errors 
warned  against,  74;  its  universi- 
ties, 86-7;  helpfulness  of  Bible 
translations  for,  114;  object  to 
vernaculars,  114;  described,  140-2; 
harasses  Protestant  work,  150;  anti- 
Catholic  propaganda  deprecated, 
178;  priests'  ratio  to  population, 
181;  cooperation  with,  198-9;  atti- 
tude of  Panama  Republic,  209; 
Judge  del  Toro  on,  222-3;  estimate 
of  Santiago  regional  conference, 
236-9;  Star  and  Herald's  view  of 
Congress,  241-2. 
Ross,  E.  A.,  quoted,  90-1;  S.  Amer- 
ican women,  124,  126. 
Rouse,  Miss  K.,  how  to  reach  stu- 
dents, 75. 


St.     Anthony     devotee's    conversion, 

76-9. 
Saltillo     Methodist     Girls'      Normal 

School,    95. 


Sanders,  F.  K.,  conference  on  effi- 
cient  candidate    training,    184-6. 

Santiago  College.  Chile,   130. 

Santiago    conference,    236-8. 

Schools,  see  Elementary  schools,  and 
Secondary  schools. 

Science  and  Christian  faith,  ais, 
216-8. 

Scientific  character  of  Congress,   14. 

Secondary  Schools:  Government's, 
84-5;  early  missionary,  92;  later 
missionary,   95-6. 

Sein,  E.  M.,  favorable  aspects  of 
missions,  50-1. 

Self-governing  evangelical  churches, 
159-60. 

Self-propagation  of  churches,  156-7. 

Self-support  of  churches,  157-8;  gifts 
of  Brazilian  church,  196-7. 

Shepherd,  Prof.,  quoted,  Spaniards' 
three  desires,  31;  motives  in  deal- 
ing with  Indians,  32. 

Smith,  Miss  F..  on  Colombian 
women,  126;  S.  American  homes 
and    women,    134. 

Social  work:  social  gospel  needed  in 
Latin  America,  68;  for  women, 
132-3;  reforms,  148-9;  social  needs 
met  by  spirit  of  Jesus,  221-4. 

Societies  in  Latin  America,  mission- 
ary,  171. 
Solidarity  lacking  among  Latin-Amer- 
ican students,  88. 

Southern  News  Bureau,  180. 

Speer,  R.  E.,  genesis  of  Congress, 
7-9;  chairman  of  day  sessions,  16-7; 
Filipino  teacher's  story,  22-3; 
assets,  needs,  duties  in  Latin  mis- 
sions, S1-3;  "Tourist  Guide,"  173; 
opening  address  of  the  Congress, 
212-4;  approves  Cincinnati  plan, 
230;  chairman  Cooperation  Com- 
mittee, 231;  union  seminary  in 
Mexico,    232-3. 

Spiritual  life  of  Churches,   153-4. 

Star  and  Herald,  on  Congress,  241-2. 

Stark,  A.  R,,  Bolivian  girl  incident, 
IIS- 

Statistics  of  Congress:  alluded  to, 
43-4;  apt  to  mislead,  169-70;  so- 
ciety,   171;    financial,    171-2. 

Strategy  missions:  Panama  strategic 
for  Congress,  4-5;  stations  well 
located,   41. 

Student    Volunteer    Movement    and 

Latin  America,  176. 
Students  of  Latin  America:  plea  for, 
47-8;  work  by  Christian  Associa- 
tion, 72-3;  Miss  Rouse  on,  75; 
solidarity  lacking,  88;  Latin  Amer- 
leans  studying  abroad,  173-4. 
Study    of    Latin-American    missions, 

176. 
Stuntz,    H.     C,    on    Plate    country 
needs.    46;    chairman    Commission 
VIL    139;   "The  Price  of  Leader- 


258 


INDEX 


ship,"  221;  "South  American 
Neighbors,"   240. 

Sunday  observance,   150-2. 

Sunday  schools,  99-100;  literature 
important,  121;  importance  and 
weakness,   147-8;   defects  of,   156. 

Survey  and  Occupation:  fully  dis- 
cussed in  ch.  II,  pp.  25-54;  terri- 
tory defined,  25-6;  prospective 
areas,  26-7;  immigration,  27-8;  re- 
sources, 28-9;  peoples  concerned, 
29-36;  social  groupings,  36-8; 
claims  on  evangelical  Churches, 
38-41;  aids  to  occupation,  41-2; 
obstacles,  42-3;  statistical  items, 
43-5;  Mexico's  need,  45-6;  Roman 
tactor,  47;  student  class,  47-8; 
Indians,  48;  Northern  business 
men,  49;  extension  or  intension, 
49;  divided  Protestantism,  49-50; 
adequacy  of  occupation  defined, 
50;  favorable  time  for  survey,  50; 
favoring  conditions,  50-1;  assets 
of  the  task,  51-2;  needs,  52;  per- 
sonal duties,  53;  cooperation  aids, 
188;  good  opportunity  for  changes, 
189-90;  latest  news  concerning,  232. 

Swift,  J.,  on  evangelical  literature, 
109. 


Taylor,  S.  E.,  extension  and  inten- 
sion, 49;  approves  Cincinnatti  plan, 
230. 

Technical  schools,  88-9. 

Teeter,  W.  H.,  quoted  on  literature, 
116,    117. 

Theological  institutions,  97-8;  educa- 
tion should  be  cooperative,  191 -2. 

Thompson,  C.  L.,  chairman  Commis- 
sion VIII.  187;  mapping  territory, 
188;  emphasis  in  message,  190-1; 
on  Catholic  cooperation,  198-9; 
Havana  conference,  238. 

Thomson,  J.,  "City  of  Dreadful 
Night,"  213-4. 

Thomson,  J.,  Lancasterian  schools, 
91-2. 

Timeliness  of  Panama  Congress,  5-6. 

Toro,    see   Del   Toro. 

•'Tourist  Guide,  Missions  and  Eng- 
lish Services,  Latin  America," 
I73»    188. 

Tracts  still  useful  in  Latin  America, 
120-1. 

Training  of  National  leaders.  163; 
"Training  and  Efficiency  of  Mis- 
sionaries,     183-6. 

Trevifio,  A.,  on  translation  work,  1 1 7. 


Tucker,  H  C,  Portuguese  inter- 
preter  of  Congress,  19;  plea  for 
Indians,  48;  value  of  Bible  trans- 
lation   work,    113. 

U 

Union  churches  in  Latin  America. 
''■73' 

United  Free  Church  may  work  in 
b.  America,  232, 

United  States  Government's  cour- 
tesies,  20. 

United  Study  of  Missions,  Central 
Committee,   176. 

Universities  in  Latin  America,  33; 
Government's,  86-8;  union  Chris- 
tian university  demanded.  192. 

Uruguayana  School,  95. 


Valera,  C.  de,  version  of  Bible,  112. 
Vance,  J.  I.,  cooperation  and  human 

nature,  203;   "The  Vital  Power  of 

Christianity,"  225. 
Vargas,   D.   de,  quoted,   112. 

W 

Waldensians  in  Uruguay,  231. 

War,  see  European  war. 

Watts,  Miss  M.,  a  pioneer,   129. 

Winter.   N.   O.,   quoted,    124. 

Woman's  work  in  Latin  America: 
full  discussion  in  ch.  VI,  pp.  123- 
37;  its  constituency,  described, 
124-7;  sketch  of  early  work  and 
workers,  127-9;  educational  work 
for  them,  129-32;  social  work, 
132-3;  work  in  the  home,  133-5; 
literature  needed,  135-6;  Christ 
needed,  136-7;  cooperative  educa- 
tion,  193. 


Yanes,  F.,  quoted,  Conquistadores, 
30;  characterizes  Latin  Americans, 

31. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association: 
object-lesson  of,  6;  work  for  stu- 
dents, 72-3;  work  for  intellectuals, 
164;  and  Latin-American  students 
in   N.    America,    174- 

Young  people's   societies,    146-7. 

Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion,   social    work,    i33- 

Yucatan,  protracted  meetings  in,  148. 


